Jagged Edges
by Speklez
Summary: When things go horribly wrong in Arizona, who will be there to pick up the pieces? Rated for Language... Twilight Rewrite
1. Chapter 1

Dead eyes stared out the window into the woods, looking for what she knew was there. They always were. Glowing eyes of her 'new protectors'. She couldn't stop the snort at the thought. Protector was a bit of a stretch for what they were. Edward was a protector. These mother fuckers were little more than assholes that stalked her every move. They never got too close, so she never knew which one of the three was outside. Maybe if she did, she would be a little happier about it.

Yeah... Right.

Happy was nothing but a bullshit concept. Happy would be having her vampire in bed next to her, but he wasn't, and he never would be again. She would never see any of them again, and it was her fault.

Why she ever thought she would have her forever with the man she loved she didn't know. It was doomed from the start, but for whatever reason, she always held out hope Edward would change his mind about her humanity, even knowing it was a pipedream and would never happen. They all hated what they were, trying so hard to be human, so why would he ever change her?

With a hard sigh, Bella set her forehead on the cool glass. It didn't matter. None of it mattered. They were all dead, and the ones that weren't, wanted HER dead. She couldn't blame them. She was the reason they lost their mates. She would want her dead, too, were she Esme and Rosalie.

Which brought her thoughts back to the mutant wolf in the woods beyond her yard.

They have been a silent pain in her ass since they pulled her out of the ballet studio James left her to die in. Why or how they came to be there, she still didn't know, and they refused to talk to her about it. Actually, they flat out refused to talk to her at all. She had no idea what their problem was either. The way she saw it, if they didn't like her, they had no need to protect her like they did. She knew Rose was around. The bitch made sure she did, as did James himself, but only once, and it was when she first came home.

How he survived, that was the one thing Bella didn't know. The Cullens had numbers on their side. There were five of them and one of James, but the last thing Bella saw before she blacked out completely was James' smirk before he vanished. He didn't leave fully intact, but he did walk away from the blaze. She woke up two days later in a hospital with someone she only knew in passing sitting in a chair on the other side of the room talking to her mother.

At the thought of her mother, Bella's mood went even further south. What kind of mother wouldn't let her child come live with them? She all but begged her to let her go to Florida, but Renee said no, that Bella had school and she was hardly ever home anymore since Phil was signed and she was always traveling with him. What a twat. Being nearly 18, it wasn't like she needed constant supervision, or that Renee was ever very good at providing it.

That was a month ago, and now here Bella was, being stalked by even more vampires than before, and protected by radioactive dogs.

If not so fucked up, it would nearly be funny how shitty things have turned out. Her love was dead. Her second family was gone. She was the charity case of the town. She didn't know how things could get worse than they were.

When she finally found the glowing canine eyes on the woods, her own eyes narrowed in irritation and anger. They should have left her there to die with her vampires. Opening her window, she made the wolf lock his eyes with hers.

"You should have let me die."

She should have kept her mouth shut. Eyes widening, she gasped at the sight of just how big the wolf was when he exited the woods and trotted across the grass. _Wow... big doggy..._ She followed him with her eyes and jumped back from the window when his human form appeared just outside.

His lips were twisted in a smirk and his voice was smooth and off hand. "Probably. But, I promise you, me and my brothers are going to ensure you live for a very, very long time. Now, get some sleep. You look like shit."

Bella scoffed. "Rude."

Paul shrugged. "True. When was the last time you actually got a full night?" The look on her face gave him all the answer he needed. "Thought so. Believe it or not, we're pretty damn good at what we do. Close the window, lock it, and go back to bed. Sam wants to talk to you in the morning, and it would be a really good idea if you're actually awake enough to participate."

Bella's lip curled in the corner. "You have had nothing to say to me in the last month. Why now?"

Paul shrugged again and made ready to drop back down to the ground. "We didn't have anything to tell you for the last month. Now we do. I'll meet you at the front door at eight, and you better answer. I expect breakfast, by the way."

Bella crossed her arms. "You expect a lot."

At that, Paul grinned. "Hey! I'm risking my life here. The least you can do is feed me."

Bella opened her mouth to respond, but Paul was gone before she had the chance, leaving her to glare at the window. "What an asshole."


	2. Chapter 2

Driving down the road toward the reservation, Bella looked in her rearview mirror and got an eyeful of tanned skin and toned muscles. Averting her eyes as quickly as she could, she shook her head and swallowed hard before calling out the open window. "Jesus, dude. Don't you ever wear clothes?"

Paul, who was standing in the truck bed and leaning on the top of the cab, smirked as he scanned the trees. "Over rated. Besides, they just get destroyed when I shift. We don't always have enough time to strip before that happens, and I don't have an unlimited number of replacements, so be glad I'm wearing anything at all."

A tremor danced down Bella's spine, but she was horrified to find she wasn't sure if it was revulsion or not. It should have been a pretty clear answer, but from what she had been staring at for the last two hours, it wasn't. Paul was an asshole, plan and simple. He was blunt, crass, and had a worse mouth than her father during football season. Still, he had a body to rival any male model, and more than once that morning she had to catch herself from following the deep cut 'V' of his hips. Something she wanted to slap herself over. She was supposed to be in mourning over her boyfriend and his family, not ogling the first guy that ran around shirtless that crossed her path.

Pressing her lips together, Bella cleared her throat. "Yeah, thank God for that." A snort caressed her ears, but she chose to ignore it. She was beginning to learn that engaging in any sort of way with this guy led to nothing but sexual innuendos and requests for food. Prior to that morning, she had never known you could actually proposition someone and ask for more food in the same sentence. Then again, she guessed that was really her own fault for making sausage instead of bacon for breakfast.

Shaking her head, she refocused on the road in front of her, refusing to acknowledge the man in her truck bed any longer. It was really better for all parties. Though Paul had tried to get her to talk about her dead vampires, asking some off the wall questions, Bella completely ignored him. Not only because she was having a hard time not focusing on his torso, but more so because she still wasn't ready to talk about the Cullens, and she wasn't sure she ever would be. Also, some of the things he asked wasn't really any of his fucking business. She failed to understand why he thought he deserved to know if she and Edward ever had sex, and she also didn't think he had any right to keep pushing her to answer that particular question.

So, due to that, the rest of the drive to La Push was both extremely quiet and pretty damn uncomfortable.

It wasn't until Bella was about to make the turn into the residential part of the reservation that Paul reminded her she wasn't alone. With a foot propped up on the side of the truck bed, he leaned around the side of the cab and spoke through the open window, telling her to head to the cliffs instead of the houses. She jumped at his proximity, but did as she was told while not giving into the reflex of turning to look at him.

Parking when she was told, Bella cut the engine, but stayed in the truck for another minute, taking that time to collect herself. She didn't know why, but there was a sense of foreboding in her gut and she couldn't shake it. It wasn't because she was going to follow a guy she didn't know into the woods, that much she knew. If anything, she knew for a fact Paul was the least of her problems. If he was going to be one, he would have been one already.

Rolling her shoulders, she got out of the truck, but didn't make it five steps before she heard her name behind her, sending ice down her spine. Biting her lip, she looked at Paul, telling him she needed a minute. When all he did was cross his arms and lean on a tree, Bella wrapped her arms around her middle before turning to face Jacob.

She tried to smile at him, but she knew she didn't fully succeed. He didn't return it, so she sighed. "Hey Jake."

Jake looked at the girl he had been in love with since they were kids with something closer to disdain in his eyes. "What are you doing here, Bella, and with him?"

She had no answer for that she could actually give. What was she going to say? 'Oh, nothing. Secret meeting of the giant puppy dogs about my dead vampire boyfriend and his surviving family that wants to kill me and what the Society of Mutant Wolves are going to do about it. You know, nothing special'. So instead of saying anything, she just looked at him and ignored his questions. "I've been meaning to call you."

That didn't help anything.

Jake's eyes narrowed slightly and his jaw ticked. "Have you? Yet, instead of calling me, you show up here, after months without a word from you, with the reservation's biggest delinquent."

Jolting back from the venom in Jake's voice, Bella blinked. "Well, sorry I haven't thought about you, Jacob. My boyfriend died."

"And I've been giving you your space to get over that."

Now she was starting to get a little miffed. "That's not something you just get over, Jake. Besides, if you were ever my friend, you'd have been there for me when I needed you and not over a month later when I finally leave the damn house. If you weren't there to help me pick up the pieces, then you don't get to have an opinion on how I choose to do it. I shouldn't have had to be the one to reach out to you." The moment that was out of her mouth, she regretted it.

When Jacob went to open his mouth again, Paul beat him to it. "Walk away, Black. You don't wanna go there."

Turning his eyes on Paul, Jake clinched his fists and glared. "This doesn't concern you. Don't you have bank to rob or something with the rest of your pals?"

Paul just smirked at the asshole. "Wow, you know us so well, Black. You're right. We do have some shit to stir up for someone. And today, that someone is Bella here. Now, why don't you go inform your daddy of the horrors of us taking her cliff diving. And, why you're at it, make sure you tell him we're corrupting Kim as well. I'm sure he'll be so incredibly pissed off about it, he might even come running to their rescue."

Out of more reflex than anything, Bella's arm swung out and the back of her hand and forearm connected with Paul's stomach hard enough to make him grunt and leave a sting on both their skin. He looked down at her as he rubbed his abused muscles and cocked a brow. She just narrowed her eyes. "Leave Billy alone, Paul. That was mean."

Paul, still rubbing his stomach, just shrugged and tilted his head to where Jake was just standing, Bella turning to see he was walking away. "Maybe, but it had the desired effect. Unless you want him caught up in this mess, it had to be done."

Her eyes dropped. "He's going to hate me when this is all said and done."

Paul looked over at Jake's retreating form and shrugged. "Naw. He'll hate me instead. Besides, I warned him he didn't want to go there. Com'on. Sam and Jared are waiting."


	3. Chapter 3

"Okay. Wait... what?"

Bella looked at girl in front of her, who gave her a look of amused understanding. "I know. I reacted the same way. It's hard to believe at first, I get it. But, it's more involved than that, and I don't know enough about it to really explain it right."

Bella's lip curled. "How..." She trailed off, not sure if it was more she didn't actually know the question or if she was more afraid of the answer.

Kim shrugged. "No one really knows how it works, or why for that matter. I'm really just using the word for word explanation that Emily gave me. She might be better at answering your questions than I am. I've only been Jared's imprint for a couple of months, but she's been Sam's since he shifted for the first time nearly two years ago."

Bella leaned hard back against the tree she was sat in front of, her lips parted and jaw lax. She wasn't sure if she was more annoyed over this being the first thing, and only, thing that has been said to her since the wolves took up her protection, or pissed off they weren't even the ones that told her. Eyes sliding to the side, they narrowed at the one that 'imprinted' on her in the weeks before. "Why didn't he tell me? Why did he make you?"

Kim giggled. "He didn't. I offered. I mean, what exactly was he going to say to you after a month of silence? 'Oh, hey, sorry I've been avoiding you like a leper, but the cosmic assholes that decided I was actually a wolf in man's skin decided we would be perfect together. Wanna be my date to the bonfire next weekend?' Somehow, I don't see that going over well. Besides, I've been where you are, he hasn't."

Bella lifted a challenging brow. "So, in addition to essentially being pissed on by a radioactive dog, your dead vampire boyfriend's family wants you dead too, huh? Small fucking world we have, ain't it?"

Kim held up her hands. "Okay, so maybe not right where you are. But, I didn't know anything about the supernatural world before Jared imprinted on me, so at least you have that. I can't imagine what it's like to be so afraid of people you once trusted with your life, and I won't pretend this isn't an added challenge. But, Bella, here's the thing. It's not bad, either. It's Paul's job to be what you need him to be. You don't HAVE to be with him like I'm with Jared and Emily is with Sam. He can be more along the lines of a brother or best friend. At the end of the day, when it comes to the two of you, you're the one that gets to decide what happens, or if anything does."

 _Yeah, I've never looked at any of my friends the way I was lookin' at him this morning. And I certainly would never look at him and see a brother._ Shaking the thought from her mind, Bella sighed and brought her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. "This is crap. I was hoping to get away from the supernatural, and it seems like I'm just being dragged deeper into it."

Kim gave her a sympathetic look. "It'll get better once the boys take care of the vampires."

Straightening her spin, Bella blinked. "Take care of the vampires? Like... kill them?"

Kim's head tilted to the side. "Well, yeah. What did you think they were going to do?"

"I don't know. Run them away from here or something."

"That's what they tried to do at first, but the stupid bastards just won't take a hint. They not only won't go away, they keep coming closer and closer every lap they take. They've already killed a dozen humans, Bella. Something has to be done and asking them nicely to leave isn't it."

Though she opened her mouth to retort, Bella just as quickly closed it. She couldn't argue that, and she knew enough about James and his coven to know they didn't discriminate. If Rose and Esme had taken up with them to get to her, she didn't think they would be sticking to the animals only diet. Dropping her forehead onto her knees, Bella remained silent. It wasn't that she had nothing to say, it was just what she did had no bearing anymore. Kim was right in the fact they couldn't be allowed to kill as many humans as they wanted, but she hated the fact the rest of the Cullens were going to be killed because of her.

Feeling a hand on her shoulder, she sighed again and picked up her head, jerking back when she came face to face with the wolf of topic instead of Kim. Still though, she said nothing. She just stared back at Paul, waiting for him to say something to make this fucked up situation less so.

On Paul's end, he just clicked his tongue a few times. "You do know what we're going to do isn't because of you, right?"

Bella looked away. "Yes it is."

Paul shook his head. "No, it's not. The two remaining Cullens know the rules of residing within the Olympic Peninsula, and they broke them of their own free will. You didn't make them kill humans, they did it on their own. You yourself very nearly died that day as well. They know it's our job to protect humans from their kind, and they decided not to allow us to do that, as they should have. Me and my brothers are designed to kill vampires. Do you have any idea what happened when you took off the way you did? Did your father tell you?"

When Bella shook her head, Paul sighed slightly and launched into it. "Your dad called Billy, all kinds of upset over the way you left, and was convinced it was for reasons other than what you told him. When he mentioned Edward, and he was the reason you left, Billy sent Jared after you. He followed you the entire way to Arizona, and Sam and I stayed here because there were still vampires in the area. When you went to the studio, Jared followed, but Edward was faster. He spoke to Carlisle before the coven ever entered the building, and was told to stay out of it because he didn't want Jared to get killed and the doctor was positive they could handle it. Had they let him help, Jared would have, and they probably wouldn't have died. It was only because he didn't leave as instructed that you're alive today. You aren't to blame for their decisions then, and you aren't to blame for the ones they are making now."

Bella had listened, but when he was done, she frowned. "You don't get it. All their decisions stem from mine to go see James by myself. It was my choice to do that, and they are reacting to that. Cause and effect, Paul."

Paul nodded. "Maybe you're right. Maybe it is all your fault, but here's the thing you're overlooking. James, or whatever his name is, reacted first and foremost to the mind reader, who made the choice to get involved with a human, knowing at anytime, that choice could come back and bite him in the ass. They are not reacting to your choice to go see a vampire on your own. They are reacting to the entire situation that started with them, not you."

Shaking her head, Bella looked him dead in the eyes. "Why are you telling me this now?"

Paul shrugged. "Shit changed."

Bella's voice went flat. "The imprint, right?"

Paul then stood and crossed his arms. "Well, yeah, but no. That's not what I'm talking about. All that is going to do is save your life."

Blinking, Bella choked. "What?"

Paul didn't say anything else, just looked to the cliff, his jaw setting into a hard line and Bella saw his body nearly begin to vibrate. Turning to where he was looking, she felt ice shoot down her spine at the sight of four sets of red eyes looking right back at her. She had never seen any of them before, but she knew who they were.

Her voice was a whimper, covered completely by fear. "No... not them, too."

Reaching down, Paul grabbed Bella's wrist and pulled her to her feet and then close to his side. Shifting at this point wouldn't do, and he hoped having her close to him would keep him in his human form. He then dipped his head and whispered in her ear. "They aren't here for you anymore."

Dragging her feet against the dirt as Paul pulled her along beside him, She looked up. "Anymore?"

Glancing down at her from the corner of his eye, "Still pissed off about the imprint? I'll explain later."

The closer to the vampires they got, the harder Bella could feel Paul's body shake and when they came to a stop in line with Sam and Jared, she slipped herself behind Paul and beside Kim, who was in much the same position behind Jared. The girls locked eyes, and there was a silent apology in Bella's. She truly never meant for anyone else to have to face a vampire, and it was clear Kim had never been in front of one before.

Bella returned her eyes to the vampires when one of them chuckled. "Vampires to Shape Shifters. You do not know how to stay out of trouble, do you, human?" When Bella lifted a shoulder but chose to remain silent, he continued. "I was quite upset at the news of my dear old friend's death, yet at the same time, very interested to find out about you, Stella. Carlisle's mate was even willing to face all consequences of allowing you to run free within our world if we would just kill you. You should know, it was going to be done. I had my guards in place, waiting for the command, when it came to our attention you have been, and for sometime, under the protection of this... pack. That of course negated our broken law of exposure, and saved your life. When this was expressed, things for the darling Esme changed yet again, and she has since made some very naughty choices, as have the other surviving Cullen and their new friends."

Swallowing hard, Bella tightened her grip on Paul's arm. "I don't understand."

Aro snorted a very undignified sound. "Of course you don't. This isn't your world." His eyes cut to Paul, "And clearly, it never was." Returning his eyes to Bella, "My guards will be dealing with the vampire problem from here on out, but it will require you to once again put your own life at risk. Something you seem very good at."

With a growl, Paul took a step forward, but Sam held out an arm to keep him back as he locked eyes with the vampire before him. "We don't put humans at risk. Unlike to your kind, humans to us aren't pawns, especially an imprint. You came to us, remember? Not the other way around and as said before, we don't care to be involved in vampire politics. If you need to risk Bella's life to help you to kill or capture, we'll do this ourselves. Can you imagine what that would look like to the rest of your subordinates? For humans being so useless and worthless to you, you really are making it sound like you can't do this without her."

Aro cocked a brow. "And if you think you can handle what's coming without us, you're in for a serious wake up call, Pup. Vampires out for revenge play by an entirely new set of rules. Her status as an imprint doesn't mean anything to them. They will kill anyone that gets in their way of getting to her. How many more humans are you going to allow to die? We will keep her as safe as possible, but she chose to live in the world of vampires, and this is her consequence. You will, of course, be by her side as well."

While it sounded good in theory, there was no way it could be so simple. Licking her lips and stepping slightly to the side, though staying behind Paul, Bella lightly cleared her throat. "What is it you need me to do, exactly?"

Aro's eyes cast themselves to the human that found herself in the middle of an issue she could not possibly fathom, and grunted. "At least one of you is sensible in the matter. All we need is for you to lure them all out. We will take it from there, and you will be free to live your life free of our kind for the first time in what is far too long."

Biting her bottom lip, Bella made a noise in the back of her throat. "Are you sure about that? There aren't going to be others behind them to take up their cause?"

Scratching his temple, Aro regarded the human before him a long moment before looking at the wolves that stood waiting for the same answer. It wasn't as simple as that, and no answer he gave now would likely be acceptable. "That is not a promise I can make. I know very little of the tracker and his band, but I do know the Cullen's reach was far and wide. Suffice it to say, however, if they have not involved themselves as of yet, it is likely they will not. These vampires are not the norm when it comes to games they play with humans. Most simply want to live out the remainder of their eternity in as peaceful manner as they are able. That said, there are three of you and five of them with the ability to make more. Rogue vampires are not your place to kill, they are mine. The only question you have to answer is... how many more human deaths can you live with? Because the longer it takes to round them up, the more destruction they can rain down upon the area."

Lowering her eyes, Bella let those words sink in and sighed. Too many had died already, and to willing stand by as more are set up for the chopping block didn't sit well with her. The words were out before she could stop them. "I'll do it."

Paul's spine snapped straight and his head whipped around to look down at the sound of defeat in Bella's voice. Dipping his head down after a moment's pause to make sure he actually heard her right, he whispered in her ear. "Get used to having two shadows."

"Three." When all eyes were on him again, Aro pulled a cell out of his inner jacket pocket and tossed it toward Bella, but it was caught by Paul. "Jane or Alec will always be near as well. Should one of the five get close enough, they will handle it." Locking his eyes on Paul's, Aro smirked. "You are little more in this scenario than a bodyguard to ensure your young lady's safety while the odds are out of your favor. Stay out of the way of my guards, and they will undoubtedly stay out of yours. Live your lives as normal and when things are set, I will call that phone, and tell you what is to be done to end this ridiculous standoff."

This time Sam didn't stop Paul when he took that step closer. "Let me make one thing very fucking clear, Leech. She agreed to this; I didn't. If one of your parasites gets too close, I will end them."

Pausing in his leaving, Aro glanced back at Paul, his head tilted and a hum in this throat. "Fair enough, if you think you can. Good luck with that."

Sam also had a few parting words for the Volturi. "Mind the border. We don't need you creating more of us."

Sifting his eyes to the leader of the pack, Aro's smirk only widened. "Of course. We certainly wouldn't want that."

Nothing else being said, and with little more than a breeze to Bella and Kim, the vampires were gone, leaving nothing but silence in their wake.


	4. Chapter 4

"I have absolutely no idea what to say to her." Venting his frustrations to Sam and Jared, Paul used his hands to talk, the smoke from the cigarette between his fingers dancing as he moved. "On the one hand, she has the people that once meant everything to her trying to kill her, on the other, she has those that have wanted her dead for a month stepping in on her behalf, and somewhere in the middle is yet another cosmic fuck you in the form of an imprint. This is the most fucked up circle of events." Sliding his hand through his hair, he looked at his brothers and shook his head. "What do I say to her?"

Looking at each other, Jared shrugged and Sam sighed. "You assure her she's going to be fine, because in the end, she will be. While it's certainly not an ideal situation, it's not as bad as could be." When Paul snorted and gave him a flat stare, Sam pointed out another fact. "They could all be trying to kill her."

Dropping hard against a tree, the noise that came from Paul's throat prove he wasn't fully human as he brought his smoke to his lips. "Yeah, sure... there's that."

Crossing his arms, Jared tapped his fingers against his skin and tilted his head. "Paul, Dude, we know you're angry, and you have every right to be. But, at the same time, her best bet for survival would be you. Now, I don't know what's going through her head when it comes to those guys from the cliffs, but a normal person would be terrified. Kim was terrified. Bella almost sounded resigned to death when she agreed to this fucked up plan of his. At this point, I don't think it matters what you say to her, as long as you say something to let her know she's not alone. For one thing, she's a magnet for vampires, and two, she's already proven she'll jepordise her own safety if she thinks it'll save someone else. How long do you think it'll be before she talks herself into stunt like she pulled in Arizona?"

When Paul looked up at the question, Sam continued. "Look, what you thought mattered when it came to her and that coven stopped when you imprinted. None of it matters anymore, if it ever really did. What matters now is, she is your responsibility. It's hard to see the forest through the trees when there are a lot of fucking trees, but no one else is as suited to deal with this as you are. You have to figure out what she _needs_. Not what she wants. Not what you want for her, or with her, or whatever. Meet her needs and everything else will fall into place."

Dropping his head back against the tree, Paul closed his eyes and sighed hard. He didn't have this kind of relationship with the female population. He was a... man whore seemed to be the favorite way to describe him. He didn't deal with actual problems brought on by women, mostly because he never hung around long enough for there to be problems. Now, the one female he was supposed to help, he couldn't, because he honestly had no idea how, or even where to start. His experience with girls began and ended with flirting and fucking, neither of which had a place in this particular situation. Even he knew that much.

Inside the house, Emily and Kim were having much the same conversation with Bella. The difference was, Bella wasn't doing a whole lot of talking. Hell, she was barely listening. It wasn't that she wasn't interested in what was being said. She was very curious about this new fucked up situation she landed in through some cosmic asshole, but were she honest, this whatever it was called was the least of her problems. She had gotten the jist from Kim, but her mind kept going back to Aro and the fact she had essentially agreed to being live fucking bait for a group of psychos that legitimately wanted her dead, making it very difficult to pay attention to what was being said.

Bella was being so unresponsive, Emily actually gave up with her and instead went and looked for Paul. It was easy to find him, though. Under the circumstances, it wasn't like he was going to stray far from his imprint. She wasn't completely sure what she was going to say to him, but he had to be easier to talk to than Bella currently was. She could understand, however, that Bella was being ripped in a ridiculous amount of directions. All Emily could really do was hope Paul was more open to certain ideas than Bella currently was.

With her fingers laced behind her back, she made her way across the back yard to where she could see the boys off by the tree line, she was sure for the off chance Paul lost the tentative hold he had on his temper these days. Giving Sam a smile, she asked if she could talk to Paul for a moment and, while there was concern in his eyes, he relented when Emily shooed both him and Jared toward the house with instructions to stay out of her kitchen if they wanted to eat at all that day.

Emily didn't say a word for a long moment, knowing Paul would start where he wanted to once the other two were somewhat out of earshot, and she was right. As soon as the back door was closed, paul sighed as he looked at her. "Tell me she's okay."

Head tilting slightly to the side, Emily let out a breath before she slightly shook her head. "No, Paul. She's isn't, but did you expect different? She had a lot dropped on her today, and in a very short amount of time while still trying to come to terms with the death of someone she cared about. If I'm being honest, I'm not sure how she's functioning at all. I can't say I would be; could you?"

Crossing his arms, Paul let out a sound that was a cross between another sigh and a growl, but it was more irritation over the mention of the dead vampire than anything else. Honestly, that was just something he was going to have to get over. It wasn't something that could be changed, and he certainly wouldn't be an issue between them in the future, but still... in the grand scheme of things, comparatively, one dead vampire boyfriend for her versus the massive amount of past pussy he'd been involved with that were still alive...

It was then he realized his priorities were pretty fucked.

Clicking his tongue, he ran a hand down his face. Dropping the cigarette butt, he stomped on it as he blew the smoke out of his nose. "I don't know how to do this, Em. I'm not... that guy."

Giving him a small smile, she lifted a shoulder. "She doesn't either. None of us did. This blindsided all of us when it happened. The difference is the situation. Neither Kim or I were in a life or death situation when Sam and Jared imprinted. I think, more than anything, that's the part you, and to a point she, are having such a hard time with. No one understand why an imprint happens, but it's pretty easy to figure yours out. You're worried about her, and Bella is the person that worries about everyone but herself. She needs someone to look out for her, Paul. But, right now, more than she needs anything else, she needs someone to listen to her. She can't talk to her dad. She certainly can't talk to any of her other friends. There could be some very uncomfortable conversations in your future, but the best thing you can do for her right now, is talk to her. Let her know you're there."

A humorless chuckled slipped from Paul's lips as he rolled his head and looked back to the house. "So, basically, she needs me to be a chick."

There was a huff on the air as Emily's face flattened. "Stop it. That's putting far too fine a point on it, and you know it. For as smart as you are, you're being really stupid right now. She needs you not to be an ass. She needs you not to hold her past against her. She needs you to be there for her. She needs someone she can trust. She needs a damn friend. It's not as difficult as you're out here making it."

Again, Paul could do little but lift a somewhat helpless shoulder. He wasn't actually trying to make it difficult. Quite the opposite, actually. But every avenue he took always came back to him just not knowing how to deal with an upset chick. He had always avoided female drama, so when it came to so much as even listening to it, he was basically inept. His ears shut down and his mouth ran without thought. Looking back at Emily, he frowned. "I still don't know what to say to her."

A sly little grin pulled at the corner of Emily's lips as a chuckle rumbled her throat. "Let me give a small piece of advice that seems to elude most men. You don't always have to say anything. Sometimes, you just have to shut the hell up and be there." Feeling there was nothing left to say on the matter, Emily gave him another smile and turned to leave Paul to his thoughts. He would either get it or he wouldn't, but it was up to him now.

Watching after Emily, there was a slightly frown on Paul's lips. What she made sound easy was actually one of the hardest things for him. He had a habit of always saying the wrong thing at the wrong time and, while it was normally alway in a joking manner, nothing about the situation was something to joke about. Still, after what was basically silence for the last month because he had no idea what to say to her, he knew that shit couldn't continue... not now.

By the time he reached the backdoor, he had a tentative plan in place. It might not be the best he could have come up with, but under the circumstances, it was as good as anything else. He had been pointedly aware of every moment of the last 22 days since the imprint; every sleepless night she had, every tear that fell, and every moment of self-loathing she felt, and he kept his distance for every last one. At the time, he thought it was best. He had wanted to give her time to process what really happened in Arizona, but finding out she never had the whole story, he wondered if the hard time she had wasn't something that could have been lessened had he taken a different approach. It wasn't like this shit came with an instruction manual or something. He had been mostly winging it, and it was time to pick a direction and, good, bad, or fucked, go with it.


	5. Chapter 5

She hadn't really moved since she sat down on the couch. Leaning forward with her elbows on her knees, Bella had her fingers laced into her hair, looking at a small gash on the wooden floor. Currently, she was trying to decide it if it was created by moving furniture or if it was made by a claw. Having finally seen the full scope size of the wolves, she supposed it could have been made by either.

She was also painfully aware she was the center of attention, and currently, that was the last place she wanted to be. Even under good circumstances she didn't like to be focused on, but in this case, she knew, or at least hoped, it wasn't some pity thing. She agreed to something stupid. She was not unaware of this, but what choice did she have? If she didn't so many more were going to die and not matter what any of them said, those that already have were her fault. That group was only in the area because she was, and as long as she stayed, everyone else she knew, and likely those she didn't, were going to die.

She would give the wolves their credit, thought. Even though she could feel them looking at her every few moments, they kept her out of their conversation. Was it just her, or was the only thing ever on their minds food? Sure, they asked her if she was hungry, but unlike them, she was fine with three meals a day. Seriously... they were like Hobbits. Currently, they were gearing up to second breakfast, and it was only 9:30. Honestly, it was probably most to do with the fact she was used to being around those that never ate, so being around some that literally always wanted food was as close to a culture shock as she's ever experienced.

As far as other things went, she wasn't actually trying to be difficult when avoiding anything that took a lot of thought on her part. It wasn't that she was trying to be rude by basically snubbing both Kim and Emily when they tried to talk to her about this thing with Paul, or rather, expand on what she had been told on the cliffs. Truthfully, as far as that went, she thought it was the least of her issues. She also would have been much more up to talking about it _before_ coming face to face with the one vampire Edward had always told her to do whatever she had to to stay away from. Sure, she had a laundry list of questions, but she figured the answers would come up eventually, and honestly, when they did, she would rather hear them from him.

If she learned anything about Paul at all, it was he didn't beat so far around the bush, and she figured he wouldn't be changing that for her specifically. He had yet to spare her feelings, and she doubted very much that would be any different now that she was in 'the know'. That was another thing that was different. Edward would have never allowed her to be anywhere near that cliff if Aro and his band were there, and he would have come up with all kinds of shity reasons why. She wasn't all that used to being involved with things, or have them play out in front of her eyes. The wolves didn't hide either what they were, or who they were, and it was just something else in the ever growing list of things she would have to get used to.

And that was the problem.

So much was different, but really, everything was the exactly same.

She wasn't sure when she closed her eyes, but when she felt hands against the sides of her calves, she opened them again, her eyes locking on Paul's, who was crouched in front of her.

Neither one said anything for a moment, but it was Paul that broke their staring contest. "Come with me."

One brow rose, and a somewhat sarcastic tone entered Bella's voice. "You're not gonna eat?"

That same smirk that seemed to live on Paul's lips appeared as he stood up. "I'm a wolf, not a pig. I just ate."

From behind Bella's head there was a hard snort followed by a yelp, pulling her attention from Paul to the scene between Sam and Jared. Sam looked exasperated and Jared was rubbing the back of his head with a glare on his face. "Dude! The fuck? He eats more than the two of us combined."

Sam, shaking his head, returned to doing the little bit of food prep Emily would allow him to. "He is also younger than us and runs more shifts than we do." His eyes then shifted back to Jared. "Need I remind you how much _you_ ate before you got your phasing fully under control?" When Jared wouldn't make eye contact, Sam smirked. "I thought not. Leave him alone."

Lips pursed and brows drawn, Bella returned her attention to Paul, who just shrugged. "Okay, so I'm a fucking pig. I haven't phased since I ate. I'm fine for now." When one of Bella's drawn brows raised, Paul huffed. "Jesus, Woman, alright; I could eat, but I'm not going to. I'm taking you to the beach. Now get up."

That did not sound awesome to her, at all. "Do you have any idea how cold it's going to be that close to the water? Not all of us run a toasty 150."

Sighing hard, Paul reached out and took Bella by the wrists and pulled her to her feet. "Then good thing for you, I run a toasty 150 then, huh? Consider me your personal space heater."

She didn't really want to consider him anything right at the moment, were she honest. She just wanted to go home, really, but at the same time, she knew they needed to talk and it was probably best to just get it over with. But, if she thought he would be the one to start it, she was sorely mistaken. The short walk from Sam's the beach was silent, though surprisingly not as uncomfortable as she thought it would have been. He was also quiet once they got down to the water. She had taken a seat on a rock that was situated a few feet from the water's edge, and Paul had picked up a rock and skipped it across the water, his back to her, but she could still tell his attention was on her.

She let it drag on for a few minutes before the quiet got to be too much and she wrapped her arms around her shins, her head tilting to the side, watching as Paul picked up another rock. "You don't... you don't actually trust them, do you?"

Tossing the rock in his hand into the air a few times, Paul shook his head as he threw it flat across the water's surface. "Not in the slightest. Looking over his shoulder, he smirked at her. "I didn't trust the Cullen's either, so..."

Frowning, Bella leaned back slightly. "They didn't do anything to show you you couldn't trust them. They didn't hurt humans."

Turning to face her fully, he crossed his arms, challenge entering his eyes. "Are you sure about that?"

The question, she hated to admit, gave her pause. She knew about a few instances where they each killed someone, Edward doing so for nearly a decade, but as far as she knew, none of them did it anymore. She wouldn't have put it past Jasper, but he was still new at their diet, so if he slipped up after so long of eating humans, she wasn't fully sure he could be held accountable for that.

When she didn't answer, Paul cocked his head. "You know that diet of theirs you praise? When you don't get your food from the grocery store and instead live off the land like our tribe does, you tend to see their diet just a little differently."

Opening her mouth, Bella then closed it. She couldn't think of a single thing to say back to that. The only part she ever focused on was the fact they didn't kill humans to survive, but she never really gave much thought to what their diet could do to humans. And, it actually left her feeling sick to her stomach when she admitted that outloud. "I never thought about it like that because they always went to Mount Rainier."

Paul, however, just shrugged. "I wouldn't have expected you to, but you don't think there aren't humans that live around there? The doe they eat sentences her fawn to death. The wolf or bear that would have eaten one or both are now hungry, and humans taste like any other meat to a hungry animal. Great, awesome. They didn't kill humans to satisfy themselves. Would you rather die by vampire teeth or get ripped apart while still alive by a pack of hungry wolves? Or starve to death because you can't find deer or caribou?" When Bella made a face, he looked beyond her to the woods. "Everything is connected, Bella. Vampires fuck that shit up no matter what they eat. Their diet aside, that's not why I didn't trust them. And I'm not the only one. Our ancestors didn't trust them either, which was why they weren't allowed within ten square miles of the reservation. Vampires are ruled by instinct. They are little more than animals themselves, and one thing you cannot trust, is a hungry animal."

Feeling offended on behalf of the Cullens, Bella glared at him. "They weren't the ones that turn into an actual animal."

Unaffected, Paul shrugged again. "Touche, but the difference is no matter how hungry I get as a wolf, I'll never actually eat a human. I might mow down a bear and pick it completely fucking clean, but it wouldn't be a mother with dependant cubs, and whatever I didn't eat, including the pelt, would be brought back for use by the tribe. And I can say that with full fucking confidence because I've done it already. The blanket on my bed that I don't need is that bear's pelt. The meat that was left was cooked and served at a bonfire."

Jolting, Bella blinked. "You don't need a bed?"

Snorting out a chuckle, he rolled his eyes. "My bed is my happy place. I don't need the blanket. I don't really feel the cold anymore."

Taking in the fact he was dressed in nothing but a pair of jean shorts and it was like fifty degrees outside, she grunted. "Clearly." Shaking her head, she then bit her lip and lowered her eyes for a moment, deciding to bring the conversation back to the original topic. "If you don't trust them, why did you agree to work with them?"

A brow rising slowly up his forehead, Paul's lip curled slightly in the corner. "I didn't. All I agreed to was to stay out of their way provided they stayed out of mine and minded the border. You're the one that agreed to work with them under the title of live bait, essentially ensuring what is to be the most stressful time of my life for however long this takes."

Swallowing hard and licking her lips, Bella let out a breath. "Because of the imprint, right?" When Paul just gave a sharp nod, she clicked her tongue. "You're not overly happy about that, are you?"

Tapping his fingers against his arm, he hummed. "I'm not overly happy about the fact you're being hunted by a hoard of parasites. I'm not overly happy about the fact the pack has to basically team up with the worst of the worst of their kind to keep you safe. I'm not overly happy about the fact that son of bitch put you in a position where you couldn't say no to something that is all but suicide. I'm not overly happy about a lot of things. The imprint? Honestly, that's about the only part of this entire fucked up situation I have no solid thoughts on right now. I don't know how be much more to a girl than a quick fuck. I don't know how to be there for someone for an extended period of time outside Sam and Jared. I don't know how to be what you need because I have absolutely no idea what it is you need." He paused for a moment before he snorted. "Okay, so that's not completely true. Your ass certainly needs protection, and that I can offer in spades. Outside that... I have no idea what the hell I'm doing. Which, consequently, really sucks."

As she listened to him, Bella's shoulders hunched slightly and she pulled her jacket tighter around her. She hadn't expected him to be quite as honest as he was, and because of that, she sort of began to resent this whole imprinting thing. She had seen Jared and Kim and Sam with Emily and, knowing the fucked up situation that happened when Sam imprinted, the whole thing seemed pretty fucked up to her. However, things between Sam and Emily and between Jared and Kim, comparatively to things between her and Paul, seemed almost natural to her. Paul almost seemed to be tearing himself apart over it, but he didn't have a negative thing to say about it, only that he had no idea what he was supposed to do. Considering she also didn't know what it was she needed, it wasn't like she would be all that helpful in figuring this out.

She did know one thing, though.

Biting into the corner of her bottom lip, her eyes sparked with a shred of amusement. "I can tell you I don't need a quick fuck, if that'll help at all."

Almost taken aback at the playful tone of voice, he grinned before throwing his hands up, returning her playful moment, Paul dropped his head. "Well, damnit... there goes three quarters of my skill set." When a quiet giggle caressed his ears, he then closed the six feet between them and crouched in front of where Bella sat, setting his hands over hers and looked her in the eyes. "I really need you to understand I would still be putting my life on the line to make sure you stay safe from things that go bump in the night. It's what the three of us do. Before we're anything else, we're protectors. That's our sole purpose for existing. You also need to understand that though you're the center of my life, I don't have to be the center of yours."

Looking down at his hands over hers, Bella frowned again. "That hardly seems fair."

With little option but to shrug it off, that's exactly what Paul did. "We have no idea why we imprint or what the driving force behind it is. So, why don't we leave what we don't know alone and focus on what we do know? Right now, I know two things for sure. The first is, you're tit deep in trouble. The other is, I know I can protect you from what's after you."

Looking up at him through her lashes, her voice was quiet. "I know I can't see someone else get hurt because of me."

Clicking his tongue, Paul looked to the sky for a moment before he looked back at his imprint. "Then don't do something stupid. Flat out, Bella, you go running to them, I'm going to go after you. They outnumber us. I can take two, maybe three, by myself. There are five of them that we know of, and for as good as I am, on my own, I'm not that good. You're going to have to trust me that we know what we're doing. I can protect you. I will protect you. But it falls on you to let me."

Clearing her throat, she let out a breath. "What about the Volturi?"

Growling slightly in his throat, Paul grunted. "For as nauseous as this makes me, we're both going to have to trust those assholes to do what they said they would. Even still, your safety doesn't mean shit to them, and you know it. On the other hand, it means everything to me. Bottom line, you hold my life in your hands as much as you hold your own because you _are_ my life. Not in some fucked up mystical sort of way, but in a very literal one."

It was like a knife was plunged into her heart. That was very nearly the last thing Edward ever told her before he died, and it felt... wrong to hear them again. Shaking her head hard, she forced Paul to back off as she shot off the rock she was sitting on. "I don't want that kind responsibility. I can't be responsible for someone's life like that."

Staying in his crouched position, Paul drummed his fingertips on the rock where Bella had sat and watched her start to pace around the sand. "It wouldn't have exactly been my choice to give someone that kind of power over me, but I didn't get a say in it either, Sweetcheeks."

Looking back at him, Bella crossed her arms. "So you are pissed off about it."

She was perfectly accustomed to seeing a smirk on Paul's face, but not one that looked that it. On his end, Paul was starting to think Emily was right and he should have just kept his damn mouth shut. But, since he didn't, he would have deal with the consequences. Still, that's not what he said. "Oh, no, no no; You don't get to do that. You don't get to twist my words into something I didn't say in some fucked up attempt to make me the bad guy. I'm a big enough asshole on my own, thank you very fuckin' much, and I certainly don't need your help in that department. I said I didn't have a choice in it, but I also said I didn't really have an opinion on it. It's an 'it is what it is' situation, but if I have to sit here and bare all to make you understand what's going on, then I'm going to fucking do it. Jesus, Bella, you're making it sound like this is the worst thing in the world, but I'm here to tell you, it's more what you make it."

Standing from his crouched position, he slowly stalked his way across the beach, speaking as he did so until he stood right in front of her. "Now, to be perfectly clear... if you pull another stunt like you did in Arizona, I swear to Christ, not only will I stop you, but I will literally tie your scrawny ass up and toss you in a closet until every single fucking one of those vampires are dead. That's where I stand. Any questions?"

Rearing back, Bella scoffed. "You wouldn't dare."

Bending at the waist, Paul got nose to nose, and looked his imprint dead in the eyes. "Try me."


	6. Chapter 6

**Last one for tonight. I will continue posting periodically over the course of tomorrow. I am writing the second to last chapter currently, and will have this done tomorrow should the odd play to my favor.**

 **Things will be picking up here over the next handful of chapters, so be ready for some fun surprises I have in store for you.**

 **I hope you have enjoyed this story so far, and I will see you tomorrow!**

 **~Speklez**

If she had thought Paul was exaggerating on the cliff when he said she would have two shadows, she was wrong. In the two weeks since that day, she was hardly ever out of his sight, and when she was, it was only because she was naked. Outside of being in the bathroom, he was always right there. Within the last seven days he did seem to settle down when it came to the other set of vampires in the area, but whereas before that day on the cliff he spent the nights outside in the woods, now he was stretched out on the floor of her room, not trusting so much distance between the two of them. But, he wouldn't sleep, because on their side or not, they were still vampires and therefore, a threat. He was also completely against trading places with Jared for even so much as a night so he could sleep, because he knew there would still be no sleep for him anyway.

She had never once seen either one of the assigned guards that were staying close on the off chance they could pick off one or another of the Cullens or James' friends, but if she asked Paul, he would tell her exactly where they were. She still didn't see them, but she didn't think she would and she was sure there was a point to that.

In the more recent days, the Volturi had proven they were upholding their end of the agreement when word was sent that they had taken out Laurent after getting a few answers from him, though she didn't want to know how they accomplished that. They also said more of the guard was sent for, though they would be hanging out in Seattle until needed in order to adhere to the final agreement Aro made with Sam about keeping their distance from the reservation to avoid creating more wolves within the tribe.

It had been something of a surprise, but the few members of the Volturi that were around were doing exactly what they said they would do, but took it a step further by also keeping Esme, Rosalie, James, and Victoria away from the border, even though it exposed their presence. It was because of that exposure more guards were needed, because there was a threat of making as many vampires as they needed to, to get to Bella. Aro, though, apparently had hundreds already at his disposal, and clearly, wasn't afraid to use them.

There had also been another meeting between the pack and the vampires, during which time, Bella had been convinced to basically take refuge on the reservation. Though she argued against it in the beginning, she couldn't argue against the fact Paul had been stretched far too thin, and it had come to the point his nerves were so frayed, he was no longer able to control his temper and since their phasing was linked to their temper, he was becoming very dangerous. The smallest shit set him off, and it would take hours to calm him back down. Sam wouldn't leave the Rez because Emily was there and there were vampires hell bent on death in the area. Jared was doing his best to run the line while also keeping an eye on Kim when she came to visit while also fielding some of Paul's more violent outbursts.

It came to a head the day before that meeting when a guard had to actually come to Bella's rescue and get her far enough back from an unintended phasing fast enough to avoid a rather nasty injury, and stay between them until the puppy could be reasoned with. It became very clear that wasn't going to happen, though what was unclear at the time was if he wanted to fight, or simply needed to. Either way, Paul was given what he was after once someone else showed up to make sure Bella's lack of protector wasn't taken advantage of. Jared was stretched out on the grass in wolf form on one side and Alec stood with his arms crossed on the other while Paul and Felix went at it. Bella wasn't able to follow the whole thing, but to the surprise of the ones that could watch what was going on, Paul was actually not out to kill, just let off a hell of a lot of steam. Both of them were ran ragged and Felix had something to the effect of never having someone put him through the ringer like that.

That was the reason she relented and agreed to stay on the wolves' turf. Once she did, Emily and Paul went back to her house with her so she could gather some clothes while Emily played the part of alibi when it came to explaining to Charlie that Bella was in no way spending her nights at Paul's, who Charlie knew was a staple at his house. Knowing both girls were absolutely full of shit, Charlie called Billy, who knew exactly was going on, and he also assured Charlie Bella would not be staying at Paul's.

That first night at Paul's was only slightly uncomfortable.

 _She hadn't been to his place prior to that, normally spending whatever time she was on the Rez over at Sam's or out and about the cliffs or the beach. They had gone over to Sam's that night for dinner, but didn't stay all that long afterword because Paul could barely keep his eyes open. She asked about sleeping arrangements, but recalling him telling her his bed was his happy place, she told him to take his bed when he offered to take the couch. She had gotten some sleep in the last week, and he hadn't._

 _She sat up reading for a while after he fell asleep, but wasn't awake for more than a couple of hours herself. She was only woken up once that night, and it was Sam when he knocked on the door, letting her know he would be on patrol that night and if she needed anything, to whistle. After nodding her understanding, she locked the place up, and laid back down on the couch, but couldn't get comfortable again, and she was cold. She had been under a homemade quilt that was over the back of the couch prior to be woken up, but for whatever reason, it wasn't enough to keep her warm anymore._

 _Biting her lip, she glanced to Paul's room for a moment or two before she shivered hard, said 'fuck it', and went to ask him if there was another blanket floating around somewhere she could use. He wasn't even slightly awake when he moved to the side of his bed, threw down the top of the fur he had on his bed, rolled over so his back was to her, and went back to sleep, leaving it up to her if she wanted to share the bed or not._

 _Not even slightly being what she meant, she wrapped her arms around herself as she was rocked by another body wide shiver. The debate lasted a full three minutes before she sighed, kicked off her shoes, and laid down, pulling the very warm fur blanket up under her chin. She could feel Paul's exceptional body heat at her back, lending a hand in warming her up, and she didn't lay there long before she fell back to sleep._

 _That morning when she woke up, she felt like she was lying in a furnace. At some point over the night, Paul dropped to his back, and she had ended up rolling over, curled into his side with her head on his shoulder. Though there was a moment of confusion, she did move pretty quick, and he didn't even so much a twitch as she climbed out of the bed._

 _After looking out the window and seeing it was still kinda dark out, she looked at her watch, grunting when she saw it was barely after 8 in the morning. The thing was, she woke up hungry and, after using the restroom, she wrinkled her nose when she discovered the man didn't have a scrap of food in the kitchen. Then again, from what she understood, he generally ate at Sam's or her place, so it was really all that surprising. She was, however, happy to discover he did have a few things to cook with, so there was that._

 _She did have some cash in her bag, so grabbing her coat and money, she quietly slipped outside. Glancing to Sam's and seeing the windows dark, she frowned before licking her lips and letting out a quiet whistle, hoping Sam was somewhat close. Hearing what she assumed was the wolf equivalent to a bark, she looked around again, and ended up walking around Paul's cabin to the back where she saw the big black wolf that was Sam sitting just inside the treeline._

 _Wrapping her jacket around her, she walked over to him, but kept her voice down. "I'm hungry and he has no food." Face flattening at what was clearly a chuckle from the dog in front of her, she huffed slightly. "It's like, ten after 8. Is the corner store up the way open yet?" When the big head nodded once, she did an internal cheer, but glanced at the window she knew was to Paul's room before she looked back to Sam. "I'll be right back. He's still sleeping, but if he wakes up before I get back, don't let him freak out, okay?"_

 _There was a clear snort from the wolf, but all he did was stand up and turn back and vanish into the trees. She wasn't sure what he meant by that, but she figured it would probably be best to get to the store and back as fast as she could. It was a three minute walk there, but the problem arose the moment it came into sight. Old Quil was sitting on the porch of the shop, and he wasn't exactly her biggest fan. It wasn't really personal. He didn't like any outsider, but the slanted stare she had always gotten from him never failed to rub her the wrong way._

 _Fully expecting him to completely ignore her, she still said good morning to him, and was taken by surprise when he nodded back to her. Blinking twice, she smiled slightly before heading inside to see what she could come up with for some breakfast since this wasn't a normal grocery store. Making her way around, she looked to see what was there, and bit her lip, knowing how much that fucker could eat in a single sitting, but also knew everyone else on the reservation would likely be coming for the fresh produce._

 _Tapping her foot against the wooden floor, she decided to make the meal more filling by using starches, and grabbed a package of rice and a couple of potatoes for that purpose, a half dozen eggs, orange juice, an onion, peppers, mushrooms, an ear of corn, and a few different spices for seasoning she hadn't seen in Paul's kitchen before she looked over the different meats, and this time, went with bacon to avoid what happens when she makes sausage._

 _Taking it up to the front, she frowned when she didn't see Quil. Leaning back, she saw him still sitting in his chair, and now, Billy was sitting with him. Figuring that was why he wasn't inside and ready for her to pay for the food, she went to the open door, and leaned her head out. Old Quil and Billy were playing checkers and, though she didn't want to interrupt them, if she didn't get back to Paul's before he woke up, he would hit the room._

 _Licking her lips, she lightly cleared her throat. "Excuse me, Mister Quil? I'm ready to pay."_

 _He didn't even look up from the board. "Those boys don't pay for food. Take what you need to feed him and make sure you can eat too. Lord knows it's more than what you picked up."_

 _Though she frowned slightly, not feeling right about not paying for anything at all, she nodded, but was stopped by her name. Looking at the other man on the porch, she was a little more relaxed about talking to him. "Yes, Billy?"_

 _Glancing at her from the corner of his eye, he then looked back at the checkerboard. "Where did you sleep last night?"_

 _Gulping slightly, Bella never lost the smile on her face. "At Emily's, of course." Before anything else could be said, she vanished back inside, and ran her hand down her face. She was never very good at lying. All she could really do was hope Billy wouldn't tell Charlie. After one more pass through the little store, grabbing only a couple more things, she still left some money on the counter to pay for it and, using her coat as a pouch, wrapped everything in it, and left the corner store._

 _Or, she tried to._

 _Once again stopped by Billy, Bella was waiting to get her ass reamed, but all he wanted was to ask if she slept any better than she had been, and she told him she had. True enough, she had been having an awful time sleeping since she came home from Arizona, and last night, not only did she sleep through the whole thing, she actually felt refreshed when she got out of bed. He nodded along with her, and said nothing else as she headed back to Paul's. She was a lot hungrier now, and she was also a little worried she was gone too long._

 _That fear, though, was put to rest when she slipped back inside and heard snoring coming from the other side of the cabin. Letting out a breath, she went into the shoebox of a kitchen, and untying her jacket, set everything she bought on the counter to began to formulate a gameplan for breakfast._

 _Nodding when she came to her decision, she dug through the cabinets until she found a decent enough size pot and a package of matches to light the stove. After the burner was lit, she set the pot on the flame to start heating it up before she went on the hunt for the knifes she had seen before she left. Of course they were in the last drawer she looked in, but that was what always happened._

 _Since she hadn't seen oil at the store, she cut the bacon into smaller pieces so she could render the fat out and use that to cook down the rest of the vegetables. She had partially cooked the bacon, cut up the other vegetables and gotten them in to cook before Paul made his half awake entrance into the kitchen._

 _With amusement on her face, she poured him a glass of juice and held it out to him. "You okay?"_

 _Eyes half open as he took the offering, he grunted as he then leaned over and stole a piece of bacon that was waiting to go back in for more cooking. "What time is it?"_

 _Snatching the not completely cooked pork from his fingers before it made it into his mouth, Bella put it back on the plate. "Not quite nine."_

 _There was an actual pout on Paul's face when he looked at his now empty fingers before he looked back at the chick that took away his bacon. "Why are we awake at this ungodly hour."_

 _Dumping the scrambled eggs into the pot with the vegetables, Bella chuckled. "I have no idea why you're awake, but I'm hungry."_

 _Blinking slowly, Paul looked around his kitchen and took in the scraps of food he knew he didn't have before he went to sleep, pausing a moment longer when he got to the bacon plate, and tilted his head. "The fuck did I miss?"_

 _Looking to what had the half awake wolf's attention, Bella moved the bacon out of his line of sight and went back to stirring in the eggs and making sure they didn't burn. "I woke up starving like an hour ago. You didn't have any food so I went up to the corner store and got stuff for breakfast." Pausing just long enough to smack the back of Paul's hand with the spatula she found as he went for the bacon again, she glared at him. "That's not cooked all the way."_

 _Lip curling in incomprehension, Paul grunted. "Who gives a shit?"_

 _When he went for it again, Bella picked up the plate and held it out behind her. "I do. It'll make you sick, now back off and drink your juice. The actual meal will be done in a couple of minutes, and damn it, you're not eating all the bacon like you ate all the sausage the last time I made you breakfast."_

 _Narrowing his eyes so they crinkled in the corners, Paul huffed slightly before backing off as requested. "You're mean in the morning." Putting his hands up when she glared at him again, he leaned back against the wall and crossed his ankles as he watched her dump the bacon into the pot and covered her mouth a jaw cracking yawn overtook nearly his entire being. "So, did you sleep okay?"_

 _Nodding as she stirred in the bacon, she looked over at him. "I did, thanks. You look like you could use another day or two, through."_

 _Grunting and wrapping his free arm around his chest, he shook his head head. "I feel like it. Pretty sure that son of a bitch broke my ribs."_

 _Making a face as she turned off the stove, she looked over at him. "If it's any consolation, if you were capable of breaking his, I'm positive you would have."_

That was a week ago, and since then, Paul had gotten fully back to his old self and he and Bella had fallen into a routine of sorts. Paul had reentered the rotation of border patrol three days later once he got enough sleep to properly function, and while he was out, Bella stayed at Sam's or, surprisingly, went to the Black's to talk with Billy because Jake still refused to so much as be around her. She was left to assume he was still pissed off she didn't call him or because she was spending time with the three people he considered a stain on the tribe.

Billy would just sigh and shake his head when Jake would take off without a word when Bella knocked on the door or just turn around and leave again if he came home and she was there. All he would ever tell her was give the boy time, but honestly, Bella was just about sick of the child like tantrum Jake was having. Sure, they were friends as kids, but what had he done to try and restrike that up since she moved home?

Fucking nothing, that's what.

Jake had no idea about the supernatural aspect of what was going on, she understood that, but really? She could count on one hand and not even use all her fingers how many times she had seen or spoken to him in the past few months, and he was acting like her very existence was a personal slight against him. He was being ridiculous, and it would be funny if it wasn't so fucking infuriating.

On Paul's end, he was getting better at the whole keeping his mouth shut and just letting Bella vent her frustrations, though he would never let a swift jab at Jacob's expense slip through his fingers. The more she would bitch about him, the more he was convinced the kid needed his ass whooped because, knowing Bella, she was actually downplaying just how much of dick the guy was being over something he had absolutely no reason or right to be a dick about. Anytime he would offer to knock the dude on his ass, he was always told no, which was never all that shocking, but eventually, he would stop asking and just do it.

Also, over the last week, Bella had grown closer to Emily and Kim. It was a little hard not to since she was all but a damn hostage during the day when it was Paul's turn to 'run the line' as they called it, but they were sweet and made her laugh, making the hostage situation something she enjoyed and she actually started looking forward to it.

Helping make food and things for that night's bonfire was full of joking and even a flour fight, but the phone Aro gave Bella that Sam took possession of sitting on the kitchen counter was never far from Bella's thoughts. However, if she thought the vampires out to kill her were the worst of her problems, she would very soon, be proved wrong.


	7. Chapter 7

Bella had been to the tribe's bonfires in the past, but it had been a very long time, and she honestly had not remembered how fun they could be. It was something they did four times a year, though the younger members had them every couple of weeks, but the whole tribe getting together for food, drinks, and dancing was a rarity.

At first, she would be honest enough to admit she felt a little out of place, but she was welcomed with open arms, more than a few quietly telling her how good she seemed to be for Paul, and how worried they had been about him since he lost his parents as a kid. Sue Clearwater more than anyone seemed to be rooting for them, and all Bella did was smile. She couldn't bring herself to tell the woman there was nothing going on between the two of them, because honestly, there was little chance she would believe her anyway.

She had stuck close to Emily and Kim, laughing and talking with them under the watchful eyes of Paul, Sam, and Jared, but they stood a distance away, letting their ladies have some space since the three of them have been all but sitting on them lately.

The issue, however, was on the other side of the fire, beady eyes staring at the trio of girls over the rim of her cup. The tribe was close and the rumor mill small, so she had heard more than she cared to about the situation between Jake, Paul, and an outsider. Seeing far too many things she had in common with Jake, Leah decided she was going to stand up for him like no one stood up for her when Sam left her for her cousin.

Noticing too late, Paul groaned in his throat when he saw Leah making her way around and straight to Bella. "Fuck..."

For Bella, she was completely caught off guard when she was approached by a pissed off Leah, and just blinked when Leah asked if she could give her a piece of advice. "Uh... sure?"

Looking first as Sam, Leah looked straight at Emily when she spoke to Bella. "Make sure you don't bring cousins around." She then looked at Bella, "You can't trust those three with anything."

Rearing back slightly, again blinking repeatedly, Bella tripped over her tongue slightly. "Um... wow. Okay, one... I don't have any cousins. Two... You have no idea what you're talking about. Three... None of this," she pointed from her and the girls over to the guys, "is any of your business. Don't try and make it."

Turning to face her fully, Leah's face settled into a hawty little look. "See, that's where you're wrong. Everything here is everyone's business. You made it mine when you did what you did to Jake."

Crossing her arms, Bella cocked a brow. "What I did to Jake?" Eyes slanting his direction, she narrowed them. "And what did I do to Jake? Make friends with Paul?" Looking back at Leah, she grinned. "Is that it? I broke his fragile little heart making friends my own age? I have seen Jake a grand total of five times since I moved back in May. It's almost August. I have spoken to him even less than that. See, if you're going to put yourself in someone else's business, make sure you actually know what's going on. It stops you from looking ridiculous... much like you do right now. Paul and I are just friends, but even if we were together, that's our business, and certainly has nothing to do with you or Jacob." Leaning just a little closer, she lowered her voice. "Currently, Jacob is the furthest thing from my mind."

Locking her eyes on Bella's , Leah sneered. "And what about your dead boyfriend? You seemed to have gotten over that awfully fast."

Anyone within earshot _knew_ that wasn't going to go over well. Most gasped, Paul dropped the cup in his hand and went to stop what he knew was coming, but was a moment too late to stop the palm of Bella's hand from cracking against the side of Leah's face. Kim and Emily didn't try and stop her because, honestly, they were of the former group and couldn't believe Leah took something so stupid to such a fucked up low.

Bella honestly had no idea what came over her. She felt like she was kicked in the chest as tears sprung to her eyes and a glare settled hard on her features. Even as Paul's arm circled her waist with a 'and we're walking away', Bella's mouth ran almost without her permission. "You frigid _bitch!_ "

Sighing and looking to the stars, Paul's other hand clamped over Bella's mouth as he used the grip on her waist to pick her up and physically turn her away from Leah, taking two steps before he set her back down. Letting her go, he forced her to walk away with his hands on her shoulders and his lips next to her ear. "She will snap you like a twig, Swan. Just walk away."

Once the shock of the fact she just had the taste slapped out of her mouth, Leah's eyes narrowed and once they set on Bella, who had stopped Paul's attempt at a retreat, she set off after her, only to be stopped by the two people she could honestly say she hated; Sam and Emily.

Emily looked behind her at Bella and Paul, the latter of the two trying very hard to keep the former of the pair from completely dissolving into a meltdown and failing miserably, she shook her head and looked back at her cousin with a look of pure disappointment. "You have no idea what their relationship entails, nor the painstaking effort Paul has put into helping Bella come to terms with her loss, or the work Bella herself has put into closing the void that loss created in her life. You had no right to even bring him up much less use the dead to hurt the living. That was completely inappropriate and utterly uncalled for."

Turning her glare on Emily, Leah snorted. "You're one to talk about what's inappropriate and uncalled for."

For the first time since Sam ended his relationship with Leah and entered one with her, Emily felt no remorse as her face flattened. "Grow up, Leah. It has been over two years. Get over it. If you ever wondered why no one wants to be around you, this is why. Just because you lack the mental capacity to let go of the past does not mean everyone else is meant to suffer for the rest of their lives so you might feel better. If you wish to continue to be miserable, that is your choice, but that is not a choice you get to make for anyone else. That poor girl found a ray of light while swimming in pitch darkness. Perhaps, if you didn't act like such a shrew, you would find one as well."

Crossing her arm, Leah's scoffed hard. "I'm supposed to take relationship advice from someone that took what wasn't hers to take?"

Taking a step closer to her cousin, Emily looked her dead in the eyes. "Were that true, and he was really yours, I wouldn't have been able to. The actual fact is I did not steal your boyfriend, Leah. It was unfortunate timing, but he was single when we got together. There was no overlap, no matter what you have convinced yourself. However, even if there was, that still doesn't give you the right to act like you have been and it certainly doesn't afford you the ability to take any anger you have with us out on someone else that did nothing to deserve it. We have gone out of our way to keep every part of our relationship out of your view. I'm done with that. As I said... grow up. You are not a child, anymore. Stop acting like one and move on... starting with a well deserved apology to Bella."

A sneer appeared on Leah's face and her hip jetted out. "I'm not apologising to her. I did nothing wrong. She did and besides, she doesn't even belong here."

Crossing her own arms, Emily lifted a shoulder. "While your opinion, that is not your decision. She was invited here. And since you finally revealed your level of childishness... what is it she did? Make a friend? That bitch."

Pointing to Bella, who now had her face buried in Paul's chest, Leah snapped. "She hurt Jacob and knowingly continues to everyday she spends with him. Like hell I'm just going to stand here and let her do to him what you did to me."

Nodding once, Emily cocked her head to the side. "Because that was our intention, right? We just, woke up one morning and decided we would go out of our way to hurt you two? Do you even realize how ridiculous that sounds? Here is the bottom line, Leah; Paul was there for her when she needed someone, and continues to be there, everyday, while she continues to try and put her life back together. Jacob wasn't and Jacob hasn't. Jacob currently avoids her every chance he gets. She and Jacob have not had any sort of relationship since they were children. Jacob has made no attempt to have one now. Jacob can be as upset as Jacob wants over her choosing the person that has proven time and again to be there for her, but Jacob only has himself to blame that person isn't him. Jacob having a crush in no way puts any obligation on Bella whatsoever to even so much as give Jacob the time of day, much less enter a relationship just because you think she should when she is clearly not over the death of the Cullen boy. If Jacob's feelings are so damn important to you... you date him."

Huffing a scoff, Leah rolled her eyes. "I don't see him that way."

Leveling Leah with a condescending look, Emily's voice was matter of fact. "Neither does she." Eyes slanting to Jake, who was looking at the ground, she spoke a little louder just for him. "She chose Paul." Returning her eyes to Leah after Jake's head snapped up, she wrapped her arms around one of Sam's, and leaned a little closer to Leah. "Get over it."


	8. Chapter 8

While Emily was giving Leah the dressing down of her life, Paul had quietly removed Bella from the beach and taken her back to his place where she could rant, rave, and break shit if that was what she wanted to, but he was more than slightly surprised to find out that, though she was crying something awful, she was absolutely livid. Tears poured down her cheeks and no amount of wiping them away stopped them, so she quit trying and took up pacing the floor.

Paul, leaning on his shoulders against the living room wall, stood with his arms crossed, following her with his eyes as she walked from one end to the other, her hands animating her words as just ripped both Leah and Jacob apart. While she did make a number of concessions as to her own behavior, which he would deal with once she ran out of steam, it was mostly a lot of 'who do they think they are' and 'what right did the frigid bitch have to do's. To question her actions? To try and guilt her for her choices? To make her sound like a heartless old hag that was going out of her way to hurt someone? To this, to that, to the other.

After a good fifteen minutes, Paul cocked his head to the side and hummed to himself before speaking when she stopped for a breath before the next round of daming Leah to the pits of Hell. "You're cute when you're angry."

Freezing in place, Bella's head slowly turned and she leveled him with the flattest look he had ever seen her point in his direction. "Don't start that crap right now. I'm too pissed off to field you at the moment."

Lifting a shoulder, Paul's signature smirk appeared on his lip. "You don't need to 'field me', Swan; and you are. You get this little crease between your eyes and you come to life in ways you I've never seen you come alive before."

Bella grunted as she ran both her hands down her face, once again trying to rid her skin of the tears that just didn't seem to have an end. Once again finding it a useless cause, she crossed her own arms and cleared her throat. "Is this where I'm supposed to say something clever and along the lines of, 'if you think I'm cute now, I'm about to be fucking gorgeous'? Because, honestly, I'm not really in the mood to feed into this revelation of yours."

Lifting a shoulder into a shrug, Paul pushed himself off the wall, picked up a dish towel off the counter, held it out to his imprint, who took it, and he wrapped his arms around her shoulders in a loose hug. "It's not a revelation. More of an observation." Leaning back, he then looked down at her as she wiped her face with the towel, and lowered his voice. "Bells, listen. She decided two years ago she was going to be an insufferable bitch, and everyone else was going to suffer right along with her. We've been dealing with this and her tantrums since Sam imprinted on Emily, and it's gotten worse over the last handful of months. Somewhere in her fucked up head, she drew parallels between what happened with her and Sam and Sam and Emily and infused that on me, you, and Black. No matter what anyone says, or how off base she is, she's convinced it's the same."

Sniffling, Bella shook her head as she looked at the towel in her hands. "It's not even that. I know she's a miserable cow and, to a point, I can understand why she's angry. If I didn't know what actually happened, I would even agree with her it's kinda messed up the guy she was with and loved ended up not just dating, but engaged to her cousin she was really close to. I'm not even upset she basically called me a slut because just like with what happened with her, Sam, and Emily, she's going off half cocked without all the facts. Fuck it, ya know? Jake knows there was never anything between him and I, and you and I know there is nothing going on between us. My problem is..." Dropping her hands hard against her thighs, she looked up and into Paul's eyes as her continued to leak tears. "Why the hell did she think she the right to bring up Edward? He's dead. He's not coming back. I will never see him again. His family is trying to kill me. All of that is all my fault. I am not unaware of any of this. I am not over any of this. I don't know if I ever will be over any of it. So there are times when I smile or someone makes me laugh. So what? Believe me, I still cry way more often."

That wasn't something he needed to be told. It generally happened in the middle of the night when she thought he either wasn't around or thought he was sleeping. He heard every whimper, every whine, every sniffle, and knew there was nothing he could about it. Still, that didn't mean he didn't intend to try. Looking to the ceiling, he let out a sigh through his nose. "I know." Looking back down at her, his tilted slightly to the side as his hands dropped from her shoulders to her hips. "Look, Swan; my number one priority will always your safety, but that said, I do actually care about you beyond that. I told you before, I'm not that guy that deals with... well basically anything, but an upset female is literally at the bottom of the list of things I have the ability to handle. I hit on you like I do, and I make the inappropriate jokes I do, because they make you laugh. But, I've been trying pretty damn hard not to overstep and make things uncomfortable. I've been doing my best to give you as much space as I possibly can. It might not be as much as you want, but under the current circumstances, it's what I know I can give you without being set off again."

Jolting slightly, Bella was quick to shake her head. "No, Paul; no, you've been great considering, ya know, everything that was basically dropped into your lap." Giving her head a shake, she dropped her eyes and shrugged. "I don't even know if I've been fair to you honestly, especially times like right now where I'm such a mess over someone I'm sure you don't even care is dead."

Anyone would say Paul was getting better at the whole keeping his mouth shut thing, but no one stops everything before it can come out.

"You're right. I don't care he's dead, and truthfully, I don't understand why you do." The look on her face was enough to tell him he fucked up, but it was out there now, and one thing Paul always did, was own what he said. Even as Bella pulled herself out of his hold, he just crossed his arms and leaned back against the counter behind him. "I don't. You didn't know him, or barely did. You've been mourning his death longer than you even knew he existed, and three times as long as you were what you considered being together. I mean, fuck, Bella. The remaining coven has been trying to kill you longer than you were ever around them. You stayed locked in your room for a month crying over a dude you knew for three fucking weeks. That block of ice must have been one hell of a lay for you to be this upset for this long after such a short time."

Every ounce Bella had calmed down skyrocketed by the time Paul was done talking. She was so taken off guard she was literally left speechless. And, when she could talk, all she could force out was a choked, "How... dare you?"

Paul decided to just go for broke at that point. It wasn't like anything he said could charge the air of the room anymore than it already was. Besides, she had to see this line of conversation arise eventually. "How dare I what? Point out facts? For starters, and for obvious reasons, I honestly do not understand your connection to a vampire. I honestly, and truthfully, do not understand how you could have grown so attached to someone so quickly, you stopped living your life because the life he shouldn't have had ended. I honestly, and truthfully, do not understand all the tears. I didn't even cry this damn much when my parents died... and I was six. You need to face a very simple truth here. Edward Cullen did not die seven weeks ago, Bella. He died a century ago, and do you know how I know that?" When Bella remained quiet, Paul answered the question. "Because I know how long it's been since the last time there were wolves within the tribe. You wanna talk about going off half cocked without all the facts? You want us... you want _me_ , to look at this all from your point of view but you won't look at it from mine. I kill vampires; for sport if not just for fun. I don't give a single rat's ass that coven was all but eradicated, and the world is better off for it. I care they are trying to kill you, but you're making it very difficult to continue to feel bad for you because, honestly, this pity party bullshit has gone on too long. For fuck's sake, you've been hanging around me and guys longer than you hung around with the Cullens."

The more Paul spoke, the angrier she got, but it wasn't so much what he was saying; it was because she was starting to realize had nothing to say back to it. She wished she could argue with him, but the fucker actually did know the barebottom facts, and she had only known Edward for a handful of weeks before he died. Still, it didn't matter. Time didn't matter. It was everything involved in that time. Glaring at him again, she said the same thing she always did when someone asked why him. "You don't know what you're talking about, Paul. He was special."

Snorting harder than he probably ever had in his life, he actually sneered at her. "He was exactly the same as every other reanimated parasite that walks the Earth, Swan. You're the one that made him special. It's in your damn head. He was literally no different than the next leech outside the fact you two were fucking."

That was the last thread on Bella's temper. That was the second time he had said something to that effect, and like hell she was going to let him keep bringing it up when that part of shit was already a slight point of contention, even for her. "WE NEVER FUCKED! Jesus Christ, would you stop saying that? We barely even kissed, but that's not the Goddamn point. He was special because there was actually a brain between his ears and our relationship didn't revolve around personal gratification. I mean, fucking hell, Paul. You're the one that seems to be keeping track of the damn timeline. What kind of whore do you think I am that I would have fucked a dude within, as you yourself pointed out, such a short amount of time?" There was absolutely no reason for him to know it was not due to lack of trying on her part.

Only slightly taken aback, but more relieved than anything else, Paul's arms uncrossed and he tossed his hands up. "Then what the fuck, Swan? If you two weren't fucking, and there was only two weeks in which you were able to actually learn anything about him after you found out what he was, then what, for the love of fuck, is it that's so hard to let go of? I could understand if there had been years, or hell, even months, but fourteen fucking days and you're life is over because he's finally where he belonged for decades? Are you fucking kidding me?"

Rearing back slightly from his words, Bella then shook her head and refused to look at him anymore. "And you said you cared."

Growling under his breath, Paul narrowed his eyes. "I do damn it, but you're making it really fucking hard to be nice anymore. You're pining away for the 'what could have beens', and I get it, I do, but... you're taking it too far and you're overlooking what's right in front of you."

Slanting her eyes to him, she grunted. "You don't even like me, Paul. Tolerate maybe, but that's not really something you have a choice in, is it?"

Running his hands hard down his face, he leveled her with a look that said more than he could. "Now who doesn't know what the fuck they're talking about? Right now? You're absolutely right. I can barely tolerate being around you. However, that is all because of you and not because I don't actually like you. Do I? Yeah, I do, but this self-loathing pity party of yours is enough to drive even a fucking saint insane and, news flash Swan, I'm about as far from being a saint as one can get."

Scrubbing at her eyes, Bella let out a pretty decent growl of her own before she looked at him again. "What is it you want from me? I'm doing my best here."

Recrossing his arms, Paul shook his head. "No, you're not, and I don't want shit from you. I want a whole lot _for_ you, but nothing _from_ you. I want you to move past this. I want you to be happy. I want you to _live_ ; none of which I have any say in. That's all on you. You can run whatever line on Black you want about that leech's death, but I know better. It's not him, it's everything that came with him... everything you can still have, by the way, if you wanted it. So, forgive me for having warm skin and a beating heart, but whether you want me to be or not, or you think I am or not, I am here for you. When shit hits the fan, I'm still going to be standing between you and those that want you dead."

Crossing her arms again, Bella's hip jetted out to the side and her face flattened. "None of that is by choice, and we both know it."

Reaching the end of his tolerance for her bullshit when it came to the imprint, Paul rolled his eyes, pushed himself off the counter and closed the distance between the two of them. Leaning down, he put his lips right next to her ear. "Wrong. Nothing other than my dying protection comes from the damn imprint. Be as big of a bitch as you want, but I'm still going to be there."

He did little more than press a kiss against Bella's cheek before he just left the cabin, waved off Sam and Emily, and vanished into the trees to literally run off some steam. He wasn't stupid enough to think he would be left alone for long. He just hoped for ten minutes of silence before he had to start answering questions he wasn't sure he was even able to.

Bella, however, hadn't moved from her place by the fireplace where she had been when Paul left, her fingertips set lightly against the burn on her cheek from Paul's lips. She wasn't sure how long she stood there, but eventually, she dropped back against the stone fireplace surround, her fingers sliding up her temple and into her hair as she sighed.

"Fuck... me." Sliding down the stones against her back, she dropped her forehead against her knees and sighed again. "God, I'm a bitch." Sniffling quietly, she picked her head and propped her chin on a knee and frowned as she looked up to the ceiling. "He's right, you know? But... I'm stuck. I'm stuck because you gave up everything for me. Whenever I'm even slightly happy, I feel like I'm turning my back on you."

"You're not."

Jolting slightly at the sound of a man's voice, it took Bella a moment to realize where it came from, and turned her head to the door Paul left open when he left and saw Jared leaning with his shoulder on the door jam with his arms crossed. He looked at her with no emotion on his face, but his eyes were surprisingly warm for the scene she was part of at the beach.

Licking his lips, he glanced through the window on the other side of the cabin from him before he looked into Bella's red rimmed eyes. "You're not turning your back by being happy. You're turning your back by not. He died so you wouldn't. He traded his life for yours. He's not here and you are. Like you said... he gave everything for you, and you're repaying that by living less than the half life he had, less than you would if he was still here, or that James guy got that bite in and changed you. Cullen's last act on this Earth was to ensure you had a life, and you're wasting that sacrifice. He could have survived, but instead chose to save you. Even from my admitted lack of full understanding, he seemed to always want you to live so... why are you acting like you're dead?"

Lowering her eyes, Bella looked at the floor as one last tear tracked down her cheek. "Because I feel empty, like there is a big part of me missing. I wanted to be like him, to always be with him."

"After two weeks?" Pushing off the jam, Jared closed the door behind him and weaved his way over to Bella, crouching down a foot away from her, and draped his hands over his thighs. Dipping his head, he caught her eyes and stayed in that position as he spoke again. "That's not enough time to even learn someone's favorite color, Bells, let alone make a decision about what amounts to eternity. Look at it another way... would you be this upset if, after the same amount of time passed, he broke up with you? They can't hang around the same area forever, Bella. They get maybe three years before they have to move on or someone would notice they don't age. Had you moved here a year later, met him, struck up a relationship, and then he ended it because they had to leave and you would never see him again because of that, would you still be stuck?" When she looked away, he cocked his head. "No, you'd be pissed right the hell off. You say you're stuck, but the only one keeping you in place is you, because Cullen is gone."

Shaking her head hear, she glared at him. "Stop saying that."

Locking their eyes, Jared didn't back down. "Cullen is gone."

Voice rising, Bella snapped at him. "Stop it!"

Cocking a brow at her, Jared quipped back. "Cullen... is... _gone_. He's not coming back, because Cullen is gone. You don't have stay in one place in life because _Cullen is gone._ "

Shooting up from her spot, she actually yelled at him. "I KNOW THAT!"

Undeterred, Jared merely looked up at her from his crouched position. "Do you?" Standing himself, he crossed his arms and looked down at her. "Because you're acting like he's going to stroll through the door and you and he can pick up right where you left off. You're not stuck, Bella. You're holding onto someone who is never coming back, which is holding you back from moving on."

Clenching her fists and her nails digging into her palms, Bella looked up at Jared with narrowed eyes. "So I'm just supposed to completely forget about Edward and jump into bed with Paul?"

Lifting a shoulder, Jared made a noise in the back of his throat. "You don't have to be with Paul," a slyish look slid onto Jared's face in that moment, and his voice was off hand when he continued. "Though we both know you want to. And why not? Cullen is gone, so you can't be with him. Look, just... think shit through the next time you decide Paul is the reason for all your issues and take things out on him he has nothing to do with. It's his job to be what you need, but if you need a punching bag, bring your shit to me or Sam, because whether or not you believe it, Paul actually does care a great deal about you and doesn't deserve to be treated like shit just because you can. You sure like to throw his imprint in his face, but you're the one taking advantage of it, so you were correct when you said you were a bitch, and I actually feel way worse for him than I ever will for you."

Jerking back from the venom in Jared voice, Bella actually choked slightly. "Why are you being so mean?"

Unrepentant, Jared cocked his head. "Because Paul is my friend and you treat him like shit. Maybe, you should take a moment to actually evaluate the situation; how you treat him, how you compare him to a corpse, how you think his every action is connected to the imprint, and adjust your way of thinking. Yes... you're his imprint, so he'll always protect you, but you could have a friend for life in him, and I'm here to tell you he's a damn good one. I'm also here to tell you he's not after what I have with Kim and what Sam has with Emily, but I don't think a little bit of level ground beneath you two is asking for a whole hell of a lot; do you?"

Slanting her eyes, Bella crossed her arms. "Well, that's not true. He told me before he left he liked me."

Snorting hard, Jared looked at her like she was an idiot. "Well, of course he likes you. You spend every waking moment around someone, you either start to like them or you begin to hate them. But, just because you like someone doesn't mean you want to fuck them. If that was his goal, he would have succeeded already. If he told you he likes you, he genuinely likes you, and no matter how you twist it, it has nothing to do with the imprint. We don't know why we do it. Lord knows this shit would be easier if we didn't, but we do know that isn't how it works. It doesn't magically create feelings for someone. What we feel for our imprint comes from us, not the ties that bind.

"Sam hated the fact he imprinted on Emily for months after it happened. He tried like hell to fight against it. He was in love with Leah, and resented the imprint and Emily because he couldn't stop himself from going to her when she needed him. That's why Leah is so convinced there was something going on behind her back before Sam ended their relationship, because it looked like there was. Sam, though, remained completely faithful to Leah right up until the end, and there was three months between the end of that relationship and Sam and Emily getting together. Honestly, I think there's a part of Sam that does still love Leah, but like I said before, you spend everyday with someone, you either start to like them, or you begin to hate them. For us, it's a little counterproductive to hate our imprint cause, ya know... that whole our life revolves around them thing.

"Look, the point is, imprints are what you make them. Paul is a good guy, sarcasm and asshattary aside, and he's going to be there for you until his dying breath. Why make his life hell, and your own by extension? I mean, he isn't incapable of walking away from you, but he's got an evil streak a mile and a half long, and not afraid to go there, even against you. He can't physically hurt you, and he'll never let anyone else, but he's still not a guy you want as an enemy, because he doesn't have to physically harm you to hurt you. Keep that in mind next time you call his intentions or feelings into question, because you don't want him to prove you right. Besides, you're easier to read than a damn book. You like him, but if you don't stop with this whole thing you're doing, he'll never believe you."


	9. Chapter 9

Staring up at the ceiling, Bella was sprawled across the coffee table, her ankles crossed and fingers laced together over her stomach. Why was she laying on a table, she had no idea, but that was where she sat down, then laid back, and that's where Paul found her when he came back inside a couple hours after their spat.

Bella didn't even move when the door opened, just used her toes to point to the kitchen. "Since I tore you away from the bonfire, I cooked if you're hungry." She said nothing else, and didn't engage in any other kind of communication. She merely went back to her thoughts, and tried to figure out if Jared was right about treating Paul like crap. Sure, they didn't always get along, and her frustration over the situation as a whole came out in ways she didn't mean, but she was mostly trying to figure out just how much of a bitch she was because she had in fact come to the stark realization that she was a much of a bitch as she was accused as being.

It wasn't like there were clear cut instances she could pick out and point to to say 'yeah, that was super fucked up on my part', but it was more a bunch of little things that added up to the much bigger issue of Jared being absolutely right. She had done everything he said she did, and hadn't noticed at the time. It wasn't always out loud, but it happened, and that was what mattered here.

For Paul, it was unnerving to see Bella in such a subdued way. He was used to her always having something to say when he reappeared after vanishing, and all she did was offer him food? He didn't know what happened in his absence, but it left a sour taste in his mouth. Something was going to come up and bite him in the ass, he just didn't know what it was.

Eyes narrowing slightly, he hummed as he crossed his arms. "Something... isn't right. You okay?"

A frown marring her features, Bella nodded slowly and remained silent for a few beats before she spoke. "Have... have I been like... overly mean or bitchy to you?"

Freezing in place on his way to the kitchen, Paul looked to the ceiling with a sigh. ' _And there it is..."_ Glancing back at her, his lips were pursed, but he just shrugged. It wasn't worth another argument.

Sitting up, Bella set her hands on either side of her, looking at Paul's back. "Don't do that."

Clicking his tongue, Paul then turned to face her, but pointed a thumb over his shoulder at the kitchen. "You said if I was hungry..." Trailing off, he kinda hoped she would drop it.

She had no intention to. Shaking her head, she swallowed. "No, no, eat. I meant don't just shrug and walk away. I really need you to answer."

His tongue curling behind his teeth, Paul leaned back against the counter and shrugged as he slid his hands into his pockets. "Well, yeah. I mean, you have to know you haven't exactly made the last handful of weeks a picnic, Swan. I get it..." Pausing for a moment, he then tilted his head to the side and grunted. "Well, no, I don't. I've tried to see it from your point of view, but I just keep coming back to the fact you're letting your life pass you by for like... no reason whatsoever. Okay, sure... Cullen died and he was special, blah, blah, blah. I don't buy it. I could understand if you said you felt guilty you're alive and he's not, or maybe even understand if you could tell me one thing about him that wasn't common knowledge among the hormonal cesspool that is the female population of Forks High School, but the fact is, if you could, you would have already in an attempt to justify what amounts to you giving up. That's what I don't get. He died so you would live, and everyday you refuse to do that, you make that sacrifice be in vain. Now, I certainly didn't know the guy, but were that me, I would be pretty pissed off if you want the honest truth."

Changing her position, Bella propped her elbows on her knees and set her forehead against her palms. Looking at the floor, her frown deepened. "This is... easier, I guess."

Snorting without really meaning to, Paul shook his head. "No shit." Seeing Bella wince, Paul licked his bottom lip and let out a hard breath before walking over to where she was sitting on the coffee table, and crouched in front of her. Setting on hand on her knee, he ducked his head and locked their eyes. "This shit has to end, Swan. There comes a point where you have to make a choice."

Dropping her eyes, Bella curled her lip in the corner as her voice flattened. "The last time I made a choice, five people died."

Once again, his mouth got ahead of him, and Paul deadpanned. "You can't die if you're already dead." When her eyes snapped back to his, his head tilted to the side. "Death is for the living, Bells. They haven't been alive in a long ass time. Like I said, there come a point you have to make a choice. You can either choose to continue this living dead status you've immersed yourself in, or you can choose to actually live. Live or die... make your choice."

Blinking at him as he stood up, Bella made a face. "Did you just quote Jigsaw?"

Not stopping on his way to his kitchen, Paul chuckled. "Seemed fitting when I said it." Not even bothering with a plate, he just picked up a fork and ate right out of the pan that was sitting on the stove.

Sliding back into the middle of the table she sat on, Bella crossed her legs and watched him for a few minutes. Titling her head to the side, she leaned back and supported herself with her hands behind her. "I am sorry, Paul. I didn't realize I was being such a pain in the ass. You could have told me."

Looking over his shoulder, his cheek puffed out with whatever delicious concoction she came up with this time, he covered his mouth with the back of his hand as he spoke. "Would you have stopped?"

Out of everything he had said to her that day, this is the one to give her pause. That was the question, wasn't it? Even if she HAD realized, or someone told her, what she was doing, would she have stopped? Or, would she had gotten worse? Really, it could have gone either way. There were a couple of times she was an intentional pain in the ass, and they normally followed something he did that painted Paul in a decent light. It was easier to fight with him over stupid shit than it was anything else.

Finally, she sighed slightly, but looked back at him. "Probably not."

Both brows shooting to his hairline, Paul froze mid chew. _Well, at least she's honest._ Gulping down the mouth full of food, he ran the back of his hands across his lips, and leaned back against the stove. "Any particular reason why?"

 _Yes... but I don't wanna tell you._ But, there was no reason not to at this point. Shrugging deep, she looked away. "It's just easier."

Having been the second time she said those exact words, he had to take a moment to consider whether or not he misunderstood what she meant when she said it before. A thoughtful expression made its way to his features, and deciding it was time to get to the bottom of whatever the hell was going on in his imprint's head, Paul left the kitchen and walked back to the living room. Taking a seat on the couch, he then leaned forward and reached out, grabbing Bella by the hips and turning her to face him. Her legs between his, his arms rested on the table to either side of her and he looked her in the eyes. "What makes what easier?"

Was she really going to do this? From his proximity, and the look in his eyes, looks like she was. Scratching the back of her head, she made an unsure face, but answered the question. "It's just easier to pick stupid fights because then distance can be maintained and no one gets attached so the bad things that happen aren't as bad."

Lips pursing and puckering slightly, Paul drummed his fingers against the outside of Bella's thighs as he tried to figure out what the hell she was talking about but for whatever reason wouldn't come right out and say. He got the basic gist, but knowing her like he did, he was sure there was a double meaning, and he wanted to make sure he picked the right path this time. Humming in his throat, his head tilted slightly. "What is it you think is going to happen?"

Playing with her fingers, she looked down. "Edward died."

While the statement itself was true, at least in her mind, it caught him off guard only because he finally knew what it was she wouldn't say. Blinking, he then dipped his head and tried to catch her eyes again. When she wouldn't let him, he snorted softly. "I'm not going anywhere."

"They said the same thing."

She was just completely unable to listen, wasn't she. Crooking a finger under her chin, he tilted her head back and forced her to look at him again. "They overestimated their abilities while underestimating someone else's just because they had numbers on their side." Leaning forward, he put his lips next to her ear, lowering his voice and making her listen. "I'm not that stupid." Pulling back again, he smirked at her. "There is a difference between knowledge and intelligence, and they lacked the latter. You can have all the degrees in the world, but no amount of education makes you intelligent. As impressive as their accolades might have been, if you lack common sense, you'll lose every time. Now, stop beating around the bush and use your grown up words. What's the actual problem, Swan?"

"I can't get attached to you, too." She honestly didn't think she could say it, but look at that... there it is.

For as shocked as he should have been considering everything she had put him through since she came back from Arizona with Jared, he wasn't. This, however, was why he didn't deal with female bullshit. They talked circles around what they wanted to say and just assumed a dude cared enough to sort their shit out and read between the lines. Under normal circumstances, that wasn't him by far and long, but the thing with Bella was, she was easy to read. He was going to make her actually say it. "I already told you, I'm not going anywhere." _Come on, Swan... take the bait..._

Licking her lips, she did just that. "You can't promise that, and I can't get attached to you."

Smirk widening slightly, he chuckled. "Damn, Swan; if I didn't know any better, I would think you liked me or something."

 _Ass...hole_. Face flattening, Bella scoffed. "See? This is why I pick fights with you. One, you're not just a prideful ass, you're a resounding ass. And two, if we're bickering, you can't poke at me for thinking you're attractive."

Deciding to play with her a bit, because why not, he cocked a brow at her. "Attractive, eh?"

Eyes narrowing, her jaw slacked a bit. "Stop it. You know you're hot."

Puffing his chest out slightly, he grinned. "So, I'm hot now, huh?"

Smacking him in the arm, she glared. "God, would you stop?"

A look of contemplation settled on Paul's face as he narrowed his eyes and looked up. "You know... I don't think I have ever been told that before." Eyes narrowing even more, he hummed. "I _have_ been called God, but... nope," shaking his head, he looked back at her, his signature smirk in place, "never been told to stop."

Cheeks instantly igniting, Bella's eyes went wide as her jaw dropped and hands covering her face. "Jesus, Paul."

Laughing outright with an 'I've been called that too', he slid to sit on the edge of the couch. Reaching up, he grabbed Bella by the wrists, and pulled her hands away from her face. Leaning forward, his nose barely touching the tip of hers, his voice was quiet and slightly husky. "I'm not going anywhere." Tilting his head slightly, his lips brushed hers as he continued. "What I AM going to do, is kiss you; now, later, and as often as you'll let me."

The only thing that really registered at first for Bella was just how soft his lips where when he fully sealed them against hers. She was mostly taken aback at how different it was than what she was used to when it came to kissing someone. She wasn't even comparing them, because really, there was so comparison. Paul's kiss was everything Edward's never was; soft, warm, and gentle. When he pulled her more into it, his lips moved with hers, instead of hers just sliding across the surface. She also found out he smoked, but no one was completely perfect. Besides, it couldn't be very often if she's never actually seen him do it.

While things got a little heated, he made no move to fully deepen the kiss, but that didn't mean he didn't want to. It was just a really bad idea. He didn't want to give her any fucking reason not to let him do it again, and pushing her into something she wasn't ready for would give her a pretty damn good one. Stopping for only a moment, he leaned back in for another leisurely peck before pulling back fully and looking her in the eyes. "You can get attached, Swan, because I already am."

Her head a little fuzzy, she lifted a shoulder. "I'll think about it." She then cocked her head to the side. "You smoke?"

Leaning back into the couch, Paul made a face and crossed his arms. "You know, I did have a life before all this supernatural bullshit. I drink, too, but I bet you didn't know that either."

Crossing her legs, she leaned forward with her forearms on her knee, and chuckled. "I did actually. My first morning here, all you had in your fridge was a half a six pack and a bottle of vodka."

A half smile pulled at the corner of Paul's lips as an appreciative noise sounded in his throat. "Mmm... vodka. Shit's delicious. As for the smoking, it's a habit I had before I started shifting and haven't kicked. However, I can still run faster, farther, and longer than either Sam or Jared. Also, I'm twenty-one years old, so pretty sure I'm allowed."

Holding her hands up, she shook her head a bit. "Oh, I wasn't saying you weren't. I've just never seen you do it, so I didn't know you did."

Again, all he could really do was hunch his shoulders. "I don't do it as often. Had you met me prior to the gene activation, I promise you would have. And Hell, eventually, you might."

Confusion marred her face as she blinked. "You're not quitting?"

Lips puckering, Paul slowly shook his head and spoke slow. "Nooo... why?"

"You said you hadn't kicked it, so I thought..."

Shaking his head, Paul cut her off. "I also never said I was trying to. If you have a problem with it, I'll continue to not do it around you, but right now, I enjoy every cigarette I smoke. It's fifteen minutes of calm, quiet, and no life or death responsibility where I can pretend I'm not the freak of nature I was turned into against my will and be who I used to be. I didn't ask to be born with this gene, and I'll be damned if it affects every last aspect of my life. Will I quit someday? Yeah, sure, maybe. But right now? Nope, cause that shit is keeping me sane. Trust me, you don't want me to quit right now. Maybe after your life isn't hanging in the balance we can revisit this particular topic, but not right now. Deal?"

Wrinkling her nose, Bella nodded once. "Deal, but I wasn't asking you to. I mean, they're your lungs, not mine."

An almost predatory look sparked in his eyes as he sat back up and leaned forward. His nose once again touching hers, he cocked a brow. "Wanna make out and see which one of us runs out of breath first?" When Bella blushed and cleared her throat slightly, Paul chuckled. "My lungs are fine, Swan, though they thank you for your concern." Butting his nose against hers, he leaned back again. "Do you want to head back to the beach, or do you want to just hang out here? At this point, it's pretty unlikely a lot of people are still there."

Though she didn't really _want_ to, she groaned as she deflated. "We should probably go back. I mean, if nothing else, I'm pretty sure I owe the Elders an apology for what happened."

Lifting a brow, Paul made a face as he slowly shook his head. "I doubt you're the one they think needs to apologize for that. Sure, you smacked the absolute dog shit out of Leah, but she did literally go out of her way to provoke a response out of you. I don't think even Old man Quil expected you to just stand there and take it."

Speaking of Old Quil, crossing her arms loosely, Bella clicked her tongue. "What's his deal with me these days, anyway? He's never liked me, even as a kid who never had a chance to piss him off, and now all the sudden I'm tolerable? Like... the hell?"

Grunting as he stood up, Paul grabbed Bella's hands and pulled her to her feet, and against his chest as he laced his fingers together behind her back. Looking down at her, he grinned. "You're not an outsider to him anymore. See... sometimes being an imprint has its perks."


	10. Chapter 10

It was midafternoon and one of the area's rare nice days, and Bella and Paul were taking full advantage of. While everyone else was inside, they were outside on Sam's porch, Bella sitting on the railing in the sun, and Paul standing in front of her between her legs, just watching her enjoy the warmth. Clearly, it had been a while since she had.

The vitamin D was doing her so much good, in fact, she didn't even react when Leah walked by heading to the beach, saying something or other about 'Nothing going on, huh', because of course that was when Paul decided he wanted to slobber all over her. Bella personally thought it was funny when he would nip at her jaw or push at her cheek with his nose. She had merely rolled her eyes at Leah as she tried to shove Paul away with a laugh, but it was when Jake and Quil passed on their way that direction that nothing was really a laughing matter, and it took more out of Bella to hold Paul back than she thought it should have. Not that she was a fan of being called a whore, but the way Paul's eyes ignited when it happened truly left Bella fearing for Jacob's long term health.

In the end, with a growl in his throat, and a shine over his eyes, Paul gave Jacob the finger while his face was buried in Bella's shoulder. Once the two boys were around the side of the treeline, he pulled back, and leveled her with the glare he just couldn't get off his face. "You just need to let me stomp his ass into the ground once, and I promise he'll never bother you again."

With only the patience she possessed, Bella sighed. "Paul..."

Cutting her off with another growl, his lips pulled back slightly. "That little mother fucker..."

"Paul..." When he growled again, this time much deeper and much more feral, and getting a little concerned for her own safety because the man had a temper and she knew what happened when he lost his temper, Bella did the first thing that popped into her head. She grabbed Paul's face and kissed him, something he seemed to respond nearly instantly to, though maybe not necessarily how she thought he was going to.

He instantly took the reigns.

His hands, that had been set on the railing to either side of her legs, moved to grip Bella's hips and pulled her closer to him. While the day before he was against the notion of pushing her too far too fast, when her arms snaked around his neck and her chest pressed harder against his, that notion went out of the window. He bit at her bottom lip once, before he deepened their kiss as much as he was physically capable.

For Bella, she didn't really know what she was doing. She had never kissed a guy like this before, and she knew she stumbled more than she didn't, but if Paul noticed, he didn't say anything or even let it slow him down.

By the time he slowed himself down, Bella was completely out of breath, lightheaded, and panting hard, while all Paul did was growl again as his forehead laid against hers. His eyes were slits, but open as he looked her in her own. "No one calls my girl a whore."

Face pinching, she decided which part of that simple sentence she wanted to address first, and when she figured it out, she pulled back slightly, her hands sliding around his neck and down his chest into a more comfortable position because he was like 6'6, and she was not. "But... don't you generally like whorish girls?"

Snorting hard, Paul looked up before looking back at her. "Well, yeah, usually. Way better in bed, which is also generally all I want from a girl. That's not the case here. However, do you have any idea what it's like to fuck a prude?"

Pressing her lips together, Bella slowly shook her head. "No... no I don't." She didn't know what it was like to fuck anything, because she had never fucked anyone before.

Paul, however, just grunted as his eyes slanted towards where Jacob vanished. "It's like fucking a doll. No thank you." Returning his eyes to her, he moved his hands back to the railing, bent at the waist, and lowered himself to her eye level. "Black doesn't even know what it's like to get his dick wet, and I'll be damn if someone who's still waiting for his balls to drop gets away with calling my girl a whore. You got your one save, Swan. If he does it again, I'll knock his fucking teeth down his goddamn throat."

Hearing him say it again, Bella couldn't let it slide a second time. She looked at him with a sly look and cocked a brow. "Your girl, huh?"

There wasn't even a moment's beat before he answered. Leaning in more, he was so close, his lips brushed hers when he spoke. "Damn straight mine." Pulling back just enough to see her eyes, he locked them, a growl entering his voice. "If Black has a problem with that, he's more than welcome to come take it up with me. I'm _really_ easy to find."

With his new position, Bella once again wrapped her arms around Paul's neck, a grin on her lips and a quiet giggle in her throat. "And... what if I have a problem with it?"

Smirk sliding into place, he chuckled as his forehead once again rested against hers. "Do you?"

Looking up at him through her lashes, she hummed. "If you think for one min..."

Cut off from finishing the sentence, Bella jumped and nearly fell off the railing she sat on backwards when the sound of an ear splitting howl broke what was otherwise a completely peaceful afternoon.

"Fuck..."

Looking back at Paul, she watched his eyes dart all over the treeline as Sam, Jared, Kim, and Emily came running out of the cabin. Looking at their faces, she grimaced. "That didn't sound good."

Picking Bella up off the railing and setting her feet on the ground, Paul shook his head as Sam grunted beside them. "It's not."

Grabbing Bella by the side of her face, Paul forced her to look him in the eyes, and his showed just how serious he was. "You. Stay. Here. Do NOT leave."

She nodded her head, he kissed her, and lept the banister, taking off in a full sprint after Sam and Jared, who hadn't waited for him because their girls knew the drill.

Bella watched after Paul for a moment before she looked over at Kim and Emily, who stood next to each other by the door. "What's going on?"

A frown on her face, Kim turned to look at Bella as Emily turned and headed back inside. "Someone phased."

Eyes going wide and law going lax, Bella looked back to where the three other guys vanished in the trees. "Who?"

Moving to stand next to her, Kim crossed her arms and shrugged. "We'll find out when they get back. And, to answer your next question, it happens when too many vampires get too close to the border, which is why Paul wants you to stay here. There are enough scents here to cover yours until they get back." Reaching over, she grabbed Bella's forearm and gave it a tug. "Com'on. Let's go inside. This could take awhile, and Emily could use the help. There'll be another wolf to feed once they find him."

Grunting at the statement, Bella followed behind kim back inside, taking up her dictated job of cutting up more carrots and potatoes than any one house really had a right to have while she listened to Kim and Emily try and figure out who the guys could be out looking for.

Kim paused in peeling as her head tilted to the side and she held the peeler in her hand flopped over. "Maybe it was Quil. I mean, he's Old Man Quil's grandson, so wouldn't he have the gene?"

Bella snorted without meaning to. "If it was, we have a huge problem, because Quil was with Jacob on their way to the beach not too long before the howl. Leah was heading that way, too, and since there wasn't a scream, we can assume it's not him."

Frowning, Kim then hummed. "Well, who else could it be? If Quil and Jake are together, it can't be either of them." Kim then glanced at Emily. "Henry is a descendant."

A look of horror overtook Emily's face. "He is, but... Seth is what? 12? 13? Certainly there are older descendants than that. Jared is the youngest of the ones that have the activated gene, but he's still nearly 20; will be in a couple of months. I would even think Jacob was too young, and he's almost 17."

Dropping the knife in her hand, Bella snapped to attention as she whipped her head to the side, looking at Emily like she started speaking some foreign language. "Jake?"

Blinking once, Emily then nodded slowly, almost sad. "Yes, Jake. He's Billy's son, and Billy is the son of one of the last wolves. Jake could shift if the lands have need of him."

Frowning, Bella then looked at Kim who jumped in. "This is why Sam wanted those vampires from the cliff to mind the border and keep a very measured distance from the reservation. Sam once said each wolf is tasked to defend against two of them apiece. No more, no less. When the Cullens were all around, there were five of them, so three wolves would have been enough. Seven would have to be close to kick another gene into action." Kim then cocked her head. "You know more about them than we do. How many do you think are in the area?"

All Bella could do was shake her head. "I don't know. I never met Aro or any of his guard before, so I don't know how much we can take what he says at face value." There was a rock forming in her stomach, and she set her knife down. "But, I don't think it's them. So far, everything he said he would do, he's been doing. It didn't look to me like he was anymore interested in more wolves than the guys where. There was always a flip flop between Jane and Alec so there was still only six in the area." Looking back at the other two girls, she frowned. "They killed Laurent, bringing the total down to five. The only time there was more than that was two weeks ago when Paul had that... issue, and he faced off with that Felix guy, but that was still after Laurent was caught, so it was still within the six." Lifting a shoulder, she leaned back on the wall, and sighed. "No... I think this has more to do with Esme, Rosalie, James, and Victoria. They said they would make more... and I think they might have."

Several miles away, Paul, Jared, and Sam were having one hell of a time corralling the newest addition to the pack. It wasn't any different than when any of them shifted for the first time, but damn...

It wasn't that he was any faster, but he was still a cub, more or less, and therefore, smaller and more agile. It didn't long to find him, but he was proving to be as much of an asshole to them in wolf form as he was in human. Embry kept a wide berth from them, and he was trying to do the same thing now, and his mind flew faster than his legs, making talking to him all but fucking impossible. That, however, worked in their favor. Sam gave the order to take him down if he wouldn't stop running, and that's exactly what Paul did.

He knew every inch of the forest around the Rez, so splitting off, he took a detour. Lying in wait, he shot forward when he heard the paw falls and, not actually out to hurt the kid, but certainly out to stop his game, Paul shoulder checked the little bastard into a thick oak tree. It might sting for a new minutes, he would have broken anything, and it gave Jared time to fully catch up and take up blocking exits with Paul while Sam took control of the entire situation and the lean in calming Embry down.

Of the four of them, Embry proved to be the easiest to talk down, but it still took some time. Thankfully, as far as personalities went, he was pretty laid back and tended to go with the flow, which made the guys happy because they had been gearing up for a four day standoff like they had with Paul. Once he stopped running, and calmed down enough to actually listen, it took less than an hour to get him to phase back. Just over two hours of that first howl, the four of them came out of the trees behind Sam's.

Before they got to the back door, Paul turned and held up his hands. His ears trained on what was going on inside, he looked them all in the eyes. "No one tells Swan."

While Embry was confused as to what he was talking about, Sam and Jared glanced at each other before Jared looked at him. "Are you sure? I mean, I know you two are finally getting somewhere, and this whole thing is still rainbows and sunshine, but she kinda needs to know."

Sam nodded as he crossed his arms. "I agree. I don't think keeping her in the dark is a good idea, Paul. If for no other reason than vigilance on her part, she needs to know."

Snorting a scoff, Paul crossed his own arms. "This is Bella, Guys. Give me a couple of hours to figure out how to tell her the game has changed and she's not so much as taking a piss alone for the foreseeable future."

Drumming his fingers against his bicep, Sam hummed as his eyes moved from his Third-in-Command to the house behind him. "Let me be the one to tell her." Before Paul could argue, he returned his eyes to him. "You are only just now in the girl's good graces, and this, as you said, is a game changer for her. It doesn't really matter much if she doesn't like me. It does matter if she dosen't like you."

Jared just raised his hand. "I'll tell her. She already hates me." Pausing, he chuckled. "I take that back. She _fucking_ hates me." Then he tilted his head and smiled. "Worth it, though."

Eyes narrowing slightly, Paul locked his glare on Jared. "The fuck you say to her last night?"

Unrepentant, Jared mirrored Paul's stance. "I told her the fucking truth. You have a vested interest in allowing her to basically do whatever the hell she wants. You can't help it. The imprint will not let you. But, I don't and I can because she's not my imprint. The fact is, you cannot fight with her about vampires anymore, Paul. I shouldn't have to point this out, but you have the worst fucking temper out of all of us. If that shit kept up, it was only a matter of time before there was another accident involving an imprint." When there was a strangled whine from Sam, Jared winced, but went on anyways. "Sorry, Sam, but it's true. We all know you didn't mean for that to happen, but it did. Paul's temper on a good day is worse than yours on a bad one," looking back at Paul, "and Bella isn't as forgiving as Emily is. Let one of us deal with Bella, and you just be there when we're done."

Lips pursing, Paul cocked a brow. "You do realize that sounds like you intend on assaulting my girl, right?"

Lifting a shoulder, Jared grinned in a good natured way. "The day is young and your girl pisses me off."

Pointing a finger in Jared's face, Paul growled. "I'm going to hurt you... really, really badly."

Sam just rolled his eyes and side-stepped the two to head in the house, as Embry looked confused between them. "Wait... Wasn't it just last night you two were just friends?" Shaking his head head, he sighed. "Jake is going to be so pissed."

A much deeper growl rumbled in the yard, and Jared grabbed Embry's arm and jerked him behind him. Sure, Paul would spar off with him, but he would fuck Embry up. Lowering his voice, he gave Paul a wary look. "We uh... we don't talk about him around Paul."

Eyes covered in a shine, Paul locked them dead on Embry's wide one. "Swan is mine, and Black can suck my dick. Trust that is the closest he will ever get to her pussy."

Blinking and a hand covering his mouth as his eyes widened, Jared choked on the bark of laughter that clogged his throat. Rubbing his fingers over his lips, Jared chuckled. "Wow... okay, that was unnecessary." Pointing behind the glaring Paul, "take your crass ass in the house, Man. I'm sure by now Bella is waiting for you." Watching after him as Paul did just that, Jared looked behind him at Embry, who was looking back at him with wider than normal eyes. "He will hurt you. Not only only will he hurt you, he will take great pleasure in doing so." Walking backwards toward the door, he level Embry with a very serious look. "You'll learn eventually why that is, but until then, don't talk about Black where he can hear you."

Frowning and following, Embry grunted. "Jake's a friend of mine."

Making a face, Jared hopped up on the back porch and paused before crossing the threshold. "Not anymore."

Crossing his arms, Embry grunted. "That hardly seems fair."

Snorting, Jared made a flat face. "Welcome to the pack."


	11. Chapter 11

**Here we go again!**

 **It had been my hope to have this done yesterday, but I wasn't feeling well, and went to be when I usually write. I'm still not feeling the greatest, but I am back at it, and will try for completeness today.**

 **This is where the story becomes my life. I love everything about this point on, and I truly hope you don't hold certain truths against me... That said, things take a pretty wild turn, so hold onto your butts, but I'll see you on the other side.**

 **~Speklez**

She knew it, but to have it confirmed was something akin to a kick to the gut. Knowing she would be unable to apologize enough to Embry, Bella shook her head when Sam finished telling her about the scents they crossed in the woods, and how they still smelled enough like a human to know there were now newly created vampires running around.

He had taken her outside nearly the moment he got back and enlightened her of the development in the situation, and also informed her that, for the time being, she could expect a massive ramp up of how stiflingly overbearing Paul was about to get. 'He won't be able to help it' was the phrase of the day, apparently, and made sure she understood when it was only him overseeing her protection, he would very likely allow less than three feet between them. Paul had already pulled himself back out of the patrol rotation, so she needed to be prepared for a 24/7 watchdog again.

Sliding her fingers into her hair, she scratched at her scalp as she looked at Sam. "This is getting ridiculous. How the fuck long does it really take to do whatever the hell Aro is supposed to be setting up? Like... seriously."

Leaned back with his ass against the railing of the front porch, Sam stood with his arms and ankles crossed, his brown eyes looking at her with something compared with annoyance, though it didn't look like it was directed at her. "I don't know, but if they don't make their move soon, we will, because we cannot allow this to continue any longer. Our legends liken newly woken Cold Ones to little more than bloodthirsty demons, and that is not something we can just let run around. This is no longer just about protecting you or our people. This is very quickly becoming a much more dire situation, and sitting on our hands waiting for them is kinda starting to piss us all off."

One arm wrapped around her stomach, Bella ran her other hand down her neck and grabbed her shoulder as she nodded at his words. She had to agree, but she didn't know what to do. She knew Paul would absolutely never allow her to do something on her own, and she was pretty sure the other ones wouldn't either. Biting into her bottom lip, she looked up at Sam through her lashes. "So, what do we do?"

Cocking a brow, Sam uncrossed one arm and pointed a finger at her. "You... don't do shit. If you so much as think about pulling some stupid stunt, Bella, I swear I'll kill you myself. You're not being told this so you can pull another Arizona. You are being told this because it is you they are after and your cooperation is no longer up for debate. It's a necessity. We can't keep you alive if you don't let us. What you don't understand is, we will all die in the name of anyone else's imprint. We will all sacrifice our own life for yours, and two of us also have an imprint to protect."

Huffing and shaking her head, her face flattened and her voice carried pure irritation. "None of you are ever going to let me off the hook for that, are you? You realize you'll never actually make me feel worse for that than I already do, right? You do know I did that because I thought James had my mother, right? It wasn't just something that popped in my head that I didn't think through. There was a legitimate reason I did it. Now, would you please stop throwing Arizona in my goddamn face? For all of you wanting me to me to move past it, you sure as hell love to use it against me."

Not even slightly interested in letting that go, Sam's head tilted to the side. "You mean like what you did to Paul with his imprint?" He watched as she opened her mouth to retort and just make a really odd sound when she couldn't. Having said all that needed to be said on the matter, Sam nodded once. "Right... now, like I said, we need you to cooperate with us. No sacrificial lamb bullshit, Bells. We don't know what we're walking into, but the four of us will go after you. You need to understand that."

Licking her lips, she nodded. "I do understand that. I understand it perfectly."

Even though Sam started talking again, Bella stopped paying attention as she started to think more on what she was told. Paring it with what she could recall from the two different meetings with Aro, her head slowly tilted to the side, her eyes crinkling slightly in the corners. _Do they even..._ Jolting, Bella cut Sam off mid-sentence with no idea what it was. "Where's that phone?"

Snapping his mouth shut, Sam cocked a brow. "On the counter where it's been everyday for two weeks."

Before he could stop her, Bella darted off the porch and headed inside, Sam's voice following her and asking what she thought she was doing. Snatching the device off the counter, she turned back, cringing at seeing every single pair of eyes settled on her. Shaking herself out of it, she looked back at Sam. "Maybe it's because I don't have the same built-in aversion to them you do I can see this from another angle, but hear me out. They are doing everything they said they would, and actually doing more because of... uh... Felix I think it was sparring with Paul the other day when nothing else would calm him down, and Alec standing right there helping to keep an eye on me and not jumping in when Paul got the upper hand. He stood there, like a statue, as his coven mate got his ass whopped. Aro sent for more of his guard when a mere threat of more vampires being made was made. They are helping in every way they can.

"You told Aro to mind the border, and he has. Even when they come to speak with you, it's outside your defined territory. You said you never crossed their scents when doing a run, and they stay a good half mile away to avoid creating more wolves per the agreement you and Aro made, right?" When Sam nodded, she continued. "Those scents you crossed today were _inside_ the border. They think they are hunting down four seasoned vampires, so that's all they're looking for. Aro only said they had _threatened_ to create more, not that they _had_ created more. Sam, their number one rule is no exposure, and newborns will expose them. What if this isn't them dragging their feet? What if they don't know that threat has become a reality? If they did, I'm almost positive they would have told you before Embry phased, because it sounded to me like Aro didn't want anymore of you either."

While there were numerous places he wanted to jump in and argue, the way she phrased what she said, he couldn't. Taking it all in and thinking it over, Sam remained silent and still for a few tense moments before he turned his head to look at the rest of the guys who were scattered around in the living room. When all they did was give him varying looks, he hummed and looked back at Bella. "Let's see if your right." When she went to open the device, he held out a hand. "Give me the phone, Bella." While she clearly didn't want to, he closed his fingers around the phone when she finally crossed the room and placed it in his hand. As soon as it was in his possession, he looked at Paul, and lowered his head to speak in his ear. "Try and keep her inside. We don't need them offering her any additional suggestions... or vice versa"

The tone of Sam's voice told Paul exactly what he meant.

Leaping over the back of the couch, Paul gabbed her hips, stopping her from following after Sam when he went back out onto the porch and closed the door behind him. Pulling her back against his chest, his hands slid along the dip of her hips and laced his fingers together, holding her in place as he dipped his head and placed a light kiss on the back of her jaw. "You... are staying right here, Swan."

Pulling away slightly, she turned as much as she could and looked up at him, her face drawn. "But..."

Shaking his head, Paul then tightened his grip and picked her up off the floor, swinging her slightly so he could change how he held her and got his arm under her knees so she was held in his arms. Smirking at her with a chuckle when her arms wrapped around his neck and a scared yelp slipped from her lips, he leaned in a pressed his lips to hers. Pulling back, he looked her in the eyes. "Bella, Babe, I swear to God, I will give you whatever the fuck you want if you just give me this and stay the hell out of it; let Sam handle this."

Twisting around, Bella tried like hell to break his hold, but all too quickly found out that wasn't going to happen. Blowing out a hard breath, she shook her head. "I'm already in the middle of it."

Grunting, Paul carried Bella into the living room and sat back down on the couch, settling Bella in his lap after he did so, and wrapping his arms around her once she got done squirming around. "Which, by the way, is a pretty big point of fucking contention, Swan. I don't like you're the middle of this, but I accepted that fact weeks ago. Can you now accept the fact there is actually a limit to what I'm willing to accept and stop trying to push that line by going out of your way to involve yourself more?"

Face pinching and nose wrinkling, Bella made a noise in the back of her throat as she looked up at him. That was a harder question to answer than she knew it should have been. It wasn't like he was asking for anything huge, or something she herself wouldn't if the situation was reversed, and that she could actually admit. If she was in his position in this relationship, she would probably have already tied his ass up and threw him in closet. After coming to that conclusion, and after another moment or two of contemplation, she finally relented and slouched, leaning more against Paul's chest and crossed her arms with a hard huff. "Fine, but for the record, I don't like it."

Rolling his eyes, Paul shook his head with a quiet sigh, but chose not to say anything. She didn't have to like it. Her liking it was the least of his concerns if she would just actually _do_ it. Instead of taking what was clearly bait on her part, he turned and looked at Embry, who had watched the exchange with more interest than he had a reason to.

It wasn't him trying to be nosy. It was more he wanted to see how they went from just friends to what was clearly a full blown relationship in less than a day. Bella had been so adamant there was nothing going on between them, but all he had seen since he showed was whatever was actually going on between them. When he felt Paul's piercing stare, he cleared his throat slightly and just settled more into the chair he was sitting on as he looked back. "So... uh... how about a little more indepth explanation about this whole being a wolf thing, since, it's pretty clear everyone knows more about what's going on than I do."

Paul and Jared glanced at each other, and Paul told him everything he needed to know was in the legends he had heard his entire life. There wasn't a whole lot more to it than that. Jared, however, took a little more pity on him than Paul did, and took a little farther than that, explaining, albeit very briefly, what was currently going on, but mostly, he would have to talk to Sam one on one, and wait until Paul wasn't in such a dickhead mood if he wanted more than the basics.

Sure, Jared knew exactly what was going on, but being it revolved around Bella, it was either her place or Paul's to talk about how much of what was their personal life they wanted to. It was bad enough there were literally no secrets between them since once they all shift they share one mind, there was no reason whatsoever to carry that shit over to general conversation. The pack had a pact to never discuss what was seen in the mind of someone else if it wasn't connected to what they were doing, and he would be damned twice over if he ever broke that. Lord knew Paul had more shit on him than Jared would ever have on Paul because Paul simply did not give a fuck.

' _Hey, Jared... remember when you were 12 and burnt down half the general store and I took the blame for that? Yeah... keep your fucking mouth shut.'_

Shaking himself out of his own head, Jared looked back at Embry. "If I were you, I would take the lack of information you have and hold it as tight as you can. Eventually, you'll know more about every one of us than you ever wanted to." Hearing a grunt of agreement from Paul, he then tossed an arm around Kim's shoulders when she sat next to him and leaned into his side as he looked at Paul. "What is your plan for when shit hits the fan anyway?" There was no actual way he was just gonna... let his chick _stay_ wherever they were told to lead the parasites... did he?

Casting his eyes down to Bella, who was now looking at him, her eyes telling him she was clearly waiting for the same answer, Paul clicked his tongue. "I..." looking back at Jared, "have absolutely no idea."

Clearly taken aback at the answer, Jared's lip curled. "The hell you mean you have no idea? Paul, Man we don't know what we're walking into, and..."

Cutting him off, Paul agreed. "And that's the point. We don't know that, so what is the point of trying to figure that out? Four vampires? Sure, I'm sure those leeches got that, so I can get Bella out of there once they are all in the same place. More than that and some brand spakin' new demon spawns? Do you even _get_ away from those?"

Even more confused, Jared tripped over his tongue. "That dude called in dozens of them, so I think it would be wise to assume he's expecting a fight."

Refusing to give that idea any merit until proven, Paul sighed. "What is it you want me to do, Jared? Hand her over to them for safe keeping or some such bullshit?"

"He does."

Every single head snapped to the door where Sam stood, looking at the device in his hand for a moment before he cast his attention to Paul with a wary look.

Paul, also looking at the phone for a moment, looked at Sam with a drawn expression. "Why do I have the feeling I'm about to get very, very angry?"

Tossing what had just become the bane of his existence onto a table, Sam scratched under his chin as he cleared his throat. "That guy has to be the most pompously arrogant son of a bitch to ever walk this Earth. While he is not so inclined to believe the other bloodsuckers would be stupid enough to attempt what it sounds like knowing at least three of his guards are in the area, he is willing to have it looked into if we are willing to allow a single one of them over the border to check for himself."

Moving Bella off his lap, for safety reasons, Paul moved away from her and crossed his arms as he looked at the now much more standoffish look on his face. "And...?"

Returning the look he was receiving, Sam pointed towards the back door. "Why don't we finish this conversation outside my house." The way it was phrased was clearly not a question, and Paul, being unable to disobey the masked order, turned and went out the backdoor, everyone following, and Jared telling Embry to stand in front of all three girls while he prepared himself for a dog fight.

Hoping to avoid that exact scenario, Sam tried to word what needed to said very delicately. "It was suggested that, should Bella be right about what he called newborns being in the area, for the safety of the rest of the tribe, Bella should return to her own home under additional protections." Pausing, he then grunted. "And after hearing what they are capable of, I cannot say I do not agree."

That... was the wrong thing to say.

Jumping as far back as he was able, Sam dropped to his hands and toes when Paul lunged for him phasing midair, his own eyes shining but Jared was on it. Phasing as well, Jared got himself nose to nose with his best friend, both of them snarling and snapping at each other as they went back and forth in their minds. Sam allowed it for a moment before he barked at them both to knock it off before they drew even more unwanted attention to themselves.

Placing himself in a position to deal with it physically if necessary, and keep any accidents from happening with the girls, Sam's narrowed and his voice leveled out. "Damn it, Paul, would fucking listen for once in your goddamn life? At no point will any of us allow Bella to be on her own with them, but you have to start looking at the bigger picture here. This isn't just about her. It's about every last fucking human in this area. We get it, she's your priority, as she should be, but sometimes risks must be taken and since it is she they want, it is she they will follow. You have my word no hard will befall her, but at the very least, we have to go find out if she's right. Right now, that's all we're doing. We'll the rest out if we have to."

*X*

Standing a few feet back from the clearly marked territory line stood a vampire with his back straight and hands clasped behind his back. He was dressed in black slacks, a white button down shirt, and a long, ornately designed blue jacket that touched the ground with the hood draped down his back. His glowing red eyes were locked on Bella as she sat on the back of Paul in his silvered fur wolf form. His stance was almost regal, and it took Bella by slight surprise after seeing the more loosely posed vampires Aro had given the periodic assignment of keeping an eye on her.

Sam, who stayed in his human form, held a hand out to the snarling and growling wolf beside him as he regarded the vampire before him. "You are?"

Keeping his eyes on the human a moment longer, finally having a face to go with all the fucking drama that had overturned his life over the last couple of days since his arrival in Seattle, he then turned his eyes to the one who spoke to him. "Demetri." When he was once again snarled at, he sighed as he looked at the animal ten feet from him. "Such hostility... Calm yourself, Mutt. I am in no way interested in tasting, maiming, or otherwise harming your delicate little morsel, but I can snap your neck and drain your lover before you even realized I moved. I am here for one reason, and one reason only; to either confirm," glancing to the human, "or deny," returning his eyes to Paul, "the presence of newborns. Any other bridges will be crossed only as they are come to. We have no quarrel with you, so from us, you have little to fear. Should your mate be proved correct, Master Aro has ordered her safety, and so she shall be protected to the best of my ability. However," looking to Sam, "why not start with point A, and show me these scents I was sent here about."

His own back straight, Sam jerked his head back and to the side."This way. Do _not_ go any farther than the trails."

With a light snort, Demetri followed behind, his nose wrinkling as he crossed into the vampire equivalent of hell. Eyes almost watering from the stench of wet dog, he brought the back of his fingers to his nose with a grunt. "I don't take orders from you, but believe me when I say that is not a problem." Cutting off his breathing, he shook his head. "Even if there were newborns in the area, they clearly have no sense of smell, so likely would not have been a problem."

Growling in his throat, Sam actually sneered at the prick. "You smell no better to us, Leech."

Chuckling, even as he caught a whiff of confirmation, Demetri never was one to let a sleeping dog lie. "Right... what is it we smell like to you? Ah, yes... candy. I believe I would take that over vomit covered wet dog any day."

To Bella, the entire situation was just awkward and kinda wished she would have just stayed at Sam's. By the time they reached the point Sam stopped, the two of them had traded so many insults, Bella had actually lost track of the running tally to declare a winner of the pissing contest both Sam and Demetri had willing engaged in. When Paul stopped, Bella slipped off his back, though Paul was quick in wrapping his huge form around her back, using the side of his muzzle to pull her closer into his side.

The three watched as vampire crouched and dipped his head, his eyes closing as he took a deep breath through his nose that was inches from the ground where there was the greatest concentration of the newborn's scent since they had actually touched the forest floor on their run. After nearly a full minute, he opened his eyes and shook his head, disgust coloring his tone. "And yet... they have the gall to call us barbaric. At least when we bite, we properly turn a human so they survive."

Eyes crinkling in the corners, Bella voiced her confusion. "You mean not everyone does?"

Glancing at her as he pulled out his phone, Demetri shook his head. "Roughly one third of all humans bitten do not complete the transition, and never reawaken. If you do wake from that walk through Hell, and you have an inept sire, such as these imbeciles, the life you receive is short lived, and very painful." Looking away from the human, Demetri looked at Sam as he opened his phone. "The good news is, one of these two has already expired, and the other is not long for this world. I can personally guarantee that neither one will be of further issue."

Not really needing to ask, but doing so anyway purely for Bella's knowledge, Sam crossed his arms. "And the bad news?"

Pushing the '4' on his phone, he brought it to his ear and responded. "There is a whole lot more where they came from."

 ***X***

 **Yes... I am tit deep in love with that tracker, as any of my readers can attest to, and he has a decent part to play. This is where my plan begins to really unfold. If you have figured out it, congrats. If not, hang tight and all will be revealed *chuckles***

 **More Paul Bella nummies are coming... but let's piss him off first.**

 **See you next chapter!**


	12. Chapter 12

"Fuck... this."

Sitting on the ground with her feet tucked under her, Bella had her face buried in her hands , almost unable to watch the pack try and reason with Paul any longer. She could understand his position, but good God; you would think it was suggested she went to fucking Seattle and not just back to her own house.

There was a distasteful grunt next to her, pulling her attention to the vampire leaning on a tree two feet from her with his arms crossed and his nose wrinkled. "Cazzo..." Looking down at the human, Demetri made the face of an overtaxed parent. "Is he always like this?"

Lips thinning as she tried to put a positive spin on what was little more than a hissy fit, Bella lifted a shoulder. "He's... very passionate."

Snorting hard, Demetri returned his red eyes to what had escalated into a physical altercation. "That is putting a fairy tale point on a horror story plot, Stella."

Without really thinking about it, she corrected him. "Bella, and it's more he just... he's really stressed out."

Rolling his eyes, he looked back down at the human. "Bella is an endearment between lovers. It means beautiful, and far too personal a name to call someone else's mate. Stella, means Star, and a far more suitable name under the current circumstances. If it's all the same to you, I don't particularly care to fight with your wolf over semantics, so Stella is what I will call you."

Blinking as her cheeks heated slightly with the new information, she cleared her throat and nodded. "I didn't know that." When she saw him lift a shoulder slightly, she then cocked her head. "Can I ask you something?"

Not taking his eyes off the train wreck going on in front of him, though ready at a moment's notice to remove the human beside him should her safety become an issue, he hummed. "You can ask."

Not sure if that was an answer that meant he would actually answer her question, she decided to ask anyway. "Before, when you said not all humans bitten survive the transition, and if they do, and all that?" When his eyes were back on her, she licked her lips and swallowed. "What did you mean?"

Returning his eyes to the fight, Demetri grunted again. "I don't talk in circles. I said exactly what I meant. The change is very difficult on the human body. Particularly on the heart. Sometimes it is just not strong enough to last, and the human dies before the heart is no longer necessary. As for the rest, contrary to what is some might think, it is actually very hard to properly turn a human. It isn't as simple as just biting down and calling it a day. It takes a certain amount of our venom to create a proper newborn. Too little and you have someone that will certainly wake up, but without enough venom to complete the change, they are something like a halfling. Due to the venom in their veins, their blood is too thick to circulate, and the body rots while they are technically still alive... and they feel every moment of it until their heart eventually gives out.

"On the flip side, too much venom introduced causes the human to change too fast. They endure the horrors of the change faster than their mind can fathom and though they wake a full vampire, they have only a half a working brain. They are unable to comprehend even the most basic of thoughts, and are literally nothing short of a demon come to earth. These two instances create what are considered our version of insane, and are the two kinds of newborns your... friends will be dealing with if that stubborn bastard refuses to see reason and allow me to do my job, because the remaining Cullens have proven to be not only foolish, but inept as well."

Lips pulling down in the corners as her stomach clinched, Bella gulped. "Do I want to know how you know that?"

A dark chuckle rumbled in Demetri's throat as he flashed his teeth at Bella. "You can ask."

Very quick to shake her head, Bella held up her hands and waved them back and forth. "No... thank you."

Sadistic amusement ignited in his eyes as he looked back to the wolves. "Pity."

Falling into a very uncomfortable silence, Bella let out a breath, trying to slow her racing heart. While she had hoped for some kind of answer from him, she didn't realize he would be so forthcoming. She had assumed he would give her the bare minimum information, but he seemed to give about as much of a fuck as Paul did when it came to answering something she asked.

Once she was pretty sure she could talk without her voice shaking, she looked back up to Demetri. "How did you know?"

Assuming she decided on continuing the prior line of questioning, he smirked. "I've done it before. It's amusing to watch and I've won a lot of bets on how long they last."

A shudder of pure revolution shot down Bella's spine and she covered her mouth to silence a whimper. "That's not what I meant."

Chuckling again, he looked down at her. "Then perhaps, you should clarify."

Rolling her shoulder and rubbed her arms, she did. "How did you know how many there are?"

A brow slowly rising, Demetri cocked his head. "I'm a tracker, so it's my job to know."

Jolting, Bella blinked a few times. "Like James?"

A look of utter insult settled on Demetri's face as his eyes narrowed. "That poor excuse of a tracker couldn't find his ass if he had a map showing him where it was. Purely scent based tracking is a parlor trick that any vampire can do with even the smallest amount of dedication. No... he could only dream of doing what an actual tracker is capable of, and for him to desecrate the title by tying himself into it is an insult that I will take great pleasure in eradicating. Let's get one thing straight... he is no tracker. He is a tactically trained mercenary that happens to have a half ass decent sense of smell. If you were wondering, that's how he was able to take out nearly an entire coven on his own. He excels far better as fighter than he ever will as a tracker."

Gulping, Bella nodded slowly, figuring sudden movements were a bad idea. "Noted."

Growling a snort, Demetri returned his eyes to the wolves once again. "Tracking abilities vary, but all of them are somewhat tied to scent. For myself, with one scent, I can find anyone that person has ever met in their life. Newborns, though, are tricky, because their scent is masked pretty heavily by their sire for the first several months, so their scent isn't unique to them yet. However, find the sire, find all their childe. In this case, there are 30 concentrated in one area, and that is against the law." Looking back down at her, his was kind enough to soften his voice, if only slightly. "You can let yourself off the hook, now. This is no longer about you, or even a group of rogue nomads bringing too much attention to themselves. It's now about an army, and they all know better." Uncrossing his arms, he used a finger to move the cuff of his sleeve and humphed when he looked at his watch. "Are they going to fight all day?"

A small smile pulled at Bella's lips as she propped her chin in her palm and watched as Paul continued to 'Fuck you' Sam and Jared up one side and down the other with something akin to stars in her eyes. "I told you he was passionate."

Fixing his cuff, Demetri snorted. "He is a perpetual child, and I grow tired of this." Pushing himself off the tree, he strolled without care directly into the ring and looked them all in the eyes. "Gentlemen, if I may. You have two choices. You are certainly within our rights to deny any form of working with us and make the attempt to handle this yourselves, but should you choose that route, before you lay down to sleep this evening, you might consider making your final arrangements known, because you will die. Not only will you, but so will your mates and likely every other human within a 200 mile radius. Or, you can allow me to do my job, of which I am very good at. I have the ability to keep any and all away from your little love if that is what is requested. Also, I have been dealing with newborns for close to 2000 years, and you have never personally seen one." Once again glancing at his watch, he hummed. "There is a clearing not too far from here." Looking back to the one that seemed hell bent on growling himself hoarse, he smirked. "Give us three hours of your time, and we will train you to properly fight and kill a newborn, all but ensuring we will never have to return to your area of the globe and you can forget we even exist because should you ever be faced with this kind of infestation again, you will know how to exterminate them. The choice is yours."

Leaving the kill box, Demetri stopped before he reached the trees and turned back with a single finger raised. "Oh, but one last piece of food for thought. Regardless of how you decide, the summoned guard will be dealing with the newborns. With us or against us, we will destroy them all, and collateral damage isn't one of our concerns. Perhaps, you should keep that in mind as you bicker among yourselves like dogs fighting over a scrap of meat."

With that, at least to Bella's eyes, he simply vanished, leaving her, Paul, Sam, and Jared to stare where he vanished for a moment before the guys turned to look at each other.

Crossing his arms, Jared grunted. "Well, he's a dick." There were noises of agreement, and he turned his attention to Sam. "So, what do you want to do?"

Unsurprising to all, Sam took the time to consider all the options, but in the end, that decision had been made weeks ago during the meeting on the cliff. He didn't like it anymore than he did then, but with a sigh he looked to the other two. "Let Embry know we will be an additional three hours."


	13. Chapter 13

**This is my last pre-written chapter, so I am going to be updating as chapters as I get the following one at least half complete. Updates will be a little more spaced out, but I am not stopping until the last chapter is up. Ramping up for the climax... in more than one way, so bare with me, and we'll get there *winks***

 **~Speklez**

Red eyes slid over the three wolves that stepped out of the trees, human in tow.

Brownish black eyes stared back, stopping a measured distance from the group of vampires that stood in the center of the clearing Bella knew all too well. It was where the Cullens played baseball, and where this whole ordeal started. She was able to push down the bile that bubbled in her stomach, but only barely.

What struck her was, of the five vampires in the clearing, only four of them looked like they were ready for any sort of training exercises. Demetri was still dressed as he was before, and it left her wondering what the fuck he was up to. He stood in front of four others dressed in tank tops, or no tops, and basketball shorts, his arms behind his back as he had almost always stood, but it was his eyes. They held that same amusement he had before, only this time, there was a level of anticipation in them that left her a little colder than she had been.

Once Sam stopped, Paul and Jared followed suite, and Bella slid off Paul's back, but he refused to let her take a single step away, and she had no problems with that.

Once again, Demetri smirked wide before he spoke. "Listen up, Pups. This is your crash course. Newborns are, quite literally, our children. Within a year, they are fully mature and strike out on their own. A properly born and raised newborn will generally grow into a productive member of vampire society, and likely never been seen by its maker again. As I was telling the human before, you are not dealing with properly born newborns. You are dealing with something far more dangerous. You are dealing with the creatures that are created when someone doesn't know what the fuck they are doing."

The wolves looked at each other, Jared being the one to say it. " _Well... this sounds unpleasant."_

While the other two bobbed their heads in agreement, Demetri continued. "Under the best of circumstances, newborns are strong but stupid, though carry the ability to learn not only from their own mistakes, but from the mistakes of others. These ones do not have such an ability. Their minds are gone. None of them will remember they were once human, and most of them have known nothing but pain since the day they were bitten. Normal newborns are predictable and go for the obvious kill, that being the neck and legs, making them easy to both defend against and destroy. These ones do not. To them, everything is obvious, and they _will keep coming._ So long as they have even the ability to drag their body across the ground, they will remain on the attack. They have no have no sense. They have no self-preservation. They only have the drive to bite, and they will, and it fucking hurts."

It was then he pointed to the vampires behind him, naming them in term. "You've met Felix and Alec. This is Afton, and this is Corin. They are the prize fighters on the guard, and will be your substitute newborns. If you can kill them, you can kill anyone." Eyes shining, he crossed his arms. "So... are we ready?"

Felix took a step forward and pointed at Paul. "I want that one. Fucker broke my arm."

Bella's entire body vibrated with the deep chuckle that rumbled Paul's form because Felix had not, in fact, broken Paul's ribs. He had been sore for most of that day, but come twilight, he was back to his old self with not even a bruise.

There was an exasperated sigh from Demetri as he leveled his friend with a flat look. "Felix..."

Though it was subtle,and missed by Bella, there was a warning in his tone, to which Felix snorted as he cracked his knuckles. "Yeah, yeah... don't kill the puppy. I got it."

Rolling his eyes, Demetri moved off to the side. "You are a child." Shaking his head, he looked to Afton. "You know what to do."

With a nod of his head, Afton also backed away. "Aye, Sir."

As Afton vanished in the trees, Demetri took up residence standing next to Bella as the wolves took to the field. Arms crossing over his chest, he imparted one last piece of advice to the pack. "No matter how many pieces we are broken into, we can be reassembled and perfectly function even without all the pieces. The only way to stop a vampire of any age from getting back up is to remove the head and sever the brain stem. Good luck."

Standing with her arms around her middle, Bella gave it the old college try when it came to watching, but all she was ever able to see were blurs of color or flashes of fur. She would look up at Demetri when he called something out, all of which were pointers such as 'don't let them get their arms around you', 'don't turn your back', and 'vampires aren't dead until they're ashed, so don't get cocky', but she said nothing for quite a while.

The whole time she was thinking about what he said before this mock fight started, and before she could stop herself, she looked up at him. "This is impossible, isn't it?"

Not taking his eyes off the wolf that belonged to the human next to him, he actually winced in a sympathetic way when Felix got a pretty solid strike on his flank. He didn't let it slow him any, so there was a pretty heavy amount of respect for that alone. Demetri did respond, though. "Stella, you are talking to a 2000 year old reanimated corpse that lives off the blood of humans and your lover is man that turns into a six and a half foot tall wolf. Impossible should no longer be in your vocabulary." Looking down at her, he hummed when he saw the look of tentative agreement on her face. "Nothing is impossible. Some things are just very, very difficult."

Payback being a rather large part of Paul's life, and having paid very close attention to the way the behemoth of a man moved, he waited for just the right moment to spin around and used both his hind legs and kicked back, landing a square hit in the middle of Felix's chest. It was both hard enough and fast enough to send the brute flying backwards and towards the trees.

Seeing it coming, and without a word to Bella, Demetri wrapped his arm around her waist and jumped, growling low when she shrieked.

Looking down like an idiot, Bella wrapped her fingers around the lapels of Demetri's jacket, but watched as Felix went flying right where they were just standing. Snapping her head to the side, she then watched as he slammed into a tree and landed on the ground in a heap.

Landing lightly on his toes himself, Demetri released the human in his grasp, and turned to the side, a brow raised as Felix took a moment longer than he should have to get back to his feet. A smirk pulling at his lips, he looked back to Paul. "Not bad, Pup. But..." From behind Paul, Afton appeared and wrapped one arm under Paul's throat and flexed his arm, effectively making a kill. "Where there is one, there is always more. Nothing is over until it's over." Reaching an arm out, Demetri grabbed Felix by the wrist as he stalked past, and leveled him with a look when he had Felix's attention. "We are teaching, Felix. This is training, not a fight. If you break that wolf, no one will ever find all the pieces I break you into. Am I clear?"

Ripping his arm free, Felix grunted as he rolled the shoulder that hit the tree, popping it back into socket. "Perfectly, Sir."

Voice darkening more than a little, Demetri glared at him. "Then knock it off, before you piss me off. Back on the field and if I hear so much as a yelp, no one will ever hear you again."

Grunting, Felix gave a sharp nod. "Aye, Sir."

Slowly scratching his forehead, Demetri sighed before looking at the group before him. "Go again."

As the guys geared up for another round, Bella's head tilted to the side as she looked up at Demetri. "Aren't you going to get out there, if only to learn to work with them?"

Slowly shaking his head as he clasped his hands back behind his back, he didn't even look down at her. "No. I will not be fighting alongside your wolves, tomorrow."

Choking on her tongue, Bella chirped in a high pitched voice. "Tomorrow?"

It was then he looked down at her. "Yes. We will be taking the fight to them in the morning. Call me selfish if you wish, but I want to go home. This nonsense has kept me away from my own mate far too long.'' Looking back at the field, he continued. "While your wolves and my fellow guards are dealing with the issue at hand, I will be keeping you alive. I have said this numerous times. We have no quarrels here, just a group of morons that are better off dead. We are merely here to grant them their wish. This place is dreadful, but you seem to attract every last supernatural within a five hundred mile radius. We are teaching your wolves what we are so that we never have to come back."

Lips twisting in the corners, Bella looked down. "The Cullens seemed to enjoy it. The lack of sunlight let them pretty much do whatever they wanted."

Without missing a beat, Demetri retorted off hand. "The Cullens also enjoyed eating squirrels." Looking down, his eyes locked on her wide ones. "The Cullens are the last coven you would ever want to base your ideals of vampires on, Stella. They barely qualified."

Over the next two and a half hours, though he didn't stray far from the human in case she needed to be moved faster than she was able, Demetri coached the wolves on how to work together as single unit opposed to individuals with a single goal. It was the way he trained all new guards because it was team work that made the Volturi as effect as they were, and it was with team work the pack would always be victorious should something amiss arise at a later time. While he never got directly involved in the physical sense, he did more than once have to put his subordinates in their place when they took things too far. By the time he was done, each one of the wolves were able to take out all four of the guards on their own without much effort.

By the end of the promised three hours, the wolves were panting, tired, and sore. However, the vampires weren't fairing much better. Alec was holding a detached arm in his hand, and Corin had to reattach a leg. Felix and Afton didn't walk away unscathed, but they only received gouged out slash marks to their stomach and arm respectively. However, no one sustained an unrecoverable injury, so when the two groups separated, nothing was said about them.

Holding a hand out to the side, indicating to Bella she could now return to her wolf, Demetri looked at the barely standing shifters and smirked. "Impressive, Pups. If you can repeat that tomorrow, you might just live through this. We move on the newborns at dawn. Be ready." He then looked at Paul. "I alone will be in the woods outside your mate's house this evening. I suggest you actually rest. You'll need it."


	14. Chapter 14

**I apologize for how long this took. It's been a day. However, I am just about done with it as a whole, so... there's that, right?**

 **Anyways...**

 **~Speklez**

"Oh... Fucking Christ."

Sprawled out on his stomach across Bella's bed, Paul wasn't sure if he actually wanted to cry as Bella's fingers dug into the overly tight muscles of his back. There wasn't so much as a hair on his body that didn't hurt, and if there was an inch of skin that wasn't discolored, he would be surprised. He had already taken an hour long hot shower, and Bella had been working on his back for another hour, but holy shit, did he still feel like he was going to die.

Sitting astride Paul's lower back, Bella frowned as she watched him bury his face in her pillow as she worked on a particularly nasty knot in his shoulder. It was so tight, she was actually up on her knees so she had enough leverage to try and massage it out, but it just didn't seem to want to go anywhere, leading her to think it was less to do with that afternoon and more to do with where he carried his stress.

Paul always thought he had a pretty high tolerance for pain, but this was agonizing. Unable to take anymore, he reached over his shoulder and set his hand over both of hers. "Stop. For the love of God, stop."

Wincing, Bella pulled her hands back and closed her fingers into fists and held them against her chest. "Sorry, but that's a really bad knot."

Groaning as he slowly shifted to his back, he closed his eyes as his hands settled on Bella's hips. "Who you tellin'?" Rolling his shoulder and cracking his neck, he grunted again. "Fuuhuhuck." Opening his eyes, he tightened his grip on Bella's hips so she would look at him, a frown coming to his lips when she didn't. "Swan." She still didn't lift her head, but she did flick her eyes to his. _Good enough, I guess._ Trying to smile, though he knew it was strained, he sighed. "I'm fine, Swan." When a brow slowly slid up her forehead, he sighed. "Yeah, I'm sore, but situationally, I did spend three hours getting my ass kicked by vampires. I'm gonna be sore for a bit. It'll pass. Nothing is broken, though not really due to lack of trying on their part, I'm sure, so I'll be fine."

Letting out a hard breath from her nose, Bella crossed her arms loosely over her chest. "I'm allowed to feel bad you're hurt, Paul."

Rolling his eyes so hard, all Bella saw for a moment was the whites of his eyes before he sat up. Though it was something of a struggle, after a minor readjustment of his legs and how Bella was situation, he moved his hands from her hips and laced his fingers together behind her back as he looked her in the eyes. "What can I do to help you feel better? Hmm?"

Playing with her fingers, Bella then lightly placed her hands against Paul's chest as she looked up at him through her lashes. "I thought I was supposed to be making you feel better."

Humming in his throat, Paul tilted his head from side to side. "Mmm, yeah; but..." leaning in, his lips brushed hers as he spoke, "I'm fine." Before she was able to say another word, Paul captured her lips in a searing, silencing kiss.

Hands sliding up Paul's chest, her arms wrapped around his neck and her head tilted to the side, Paul taking advantage and deepening their kiss as he pulled her closer.

Bella had gotten much better at being an active participant in their more heated make out sessions, her mind all but going blank as she melted into his hold and basked in the warmth of his skin. That would have been exactly what happened this time had, when he rolled them over, he didn't make a noise of discomfort. Breaking their kiss, her breath caught in her throat when he dipped his head and turned his attention to her neck. Her stomach tightened and one of her legs wrapped around Paul's lower back. Her voice was breathless and strained when she was able to force her words out, what she said completely going against her actions. "Paul, you're hurt."

He didn't give a shit if every bone in his body was broken. A little bit of pain wasn't about to stop him. He did stop his assault long enough to inform her that wasn't a deterrent, before he went back to searching for that one spot he was looking for right around her collarbone.

When he found it, Bella's brain completely skipped out on her, and without her own permission, blurted out her virginal status by informing him she had 'never done this before', effectively freezing Paul in place.

He had already been informed she hadn't slept with the vampire, but she left out the fact she had never slept with anyone else either. Eyes darting back and forth, not wholly sure what he was supposed to do at that point, his lips puckered before he grunted. "That's one, though." Pushing himself up and off his girlfriend, he then scratched the back of his head and made an unsure noise in the back of his throat. "Do... do you wanna stop?" For as many notches in his belt as he had, none of them were virgins, and he wasn't really sure what the protocol was in this situation.

No, she didn't, at all. But, considering the fact he could barely move, no matter what he said, she thought they should. Arms falling from his neck and landing by her head, she groaned loud and looked at the ceiling, her voice a hard sigh. "Noooo."

The tip of his tongue ran along his top lip as Paul looked down at her with a slightly raised brow. "I think that was the yesest sounding no I've ever heard." When she made a face up at him, he sighed and fell like a rock onto his back, shifting slightly to accommodate that lump on his shoulder. "Just as well." Turning his head to look at her, he grunted as he adjusted his back. "Probably wouldn't have been very good at it tonight anyway."

Frowning as she turned to her side, propping herself up on her elbow. "I'm sorry."

Jerking back from the statement, his lip curled. "For what? If you're not ready to go there, you're not ready to go there." Laying flat again, he pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes, speaking under his breath, "I can't feel my fucking face." He then ran his hands down his face and returned his eyes to Bella. "We'll cross that bridge when you're ready... and I can actually move." When her frown deepened more, he sighed and reached an arm out, wrapping it around her shoulder and pulling her down to lay on his chest as he closed his eyes. "Stop it, Swan." His fingers running through her hair, he smiled slightly. "It's really not the end of the world." Smile morphing into a smirk, he chuckled. "Today, tomorrow, or a year from now, the result will still be the same."

Against her better judgement knowing just how crass he could be, she looked up at him and went ahead and asked anyway. "And that is."

Cracking one eye open, he looked down at her, his teeth showing from behind his lips as his smirk widened. "I'm gonna fuck your brains out and claim that pussy of yours in the name of Saint Paul." Then, he winked at her as her eyes widened. He expected the retaliation, but the level of sting her hand left when it slammed down on his chest almost took his breath away. Though he laughed as he rubbed his chest, it was strained and harsh. "Oooouuuuch... not sure I deserved that."

Blushing a shade of red not yet known to mankind, Bella scoffed, but she was clearly mortified. "Jesus, Paul."

The next line came without thought. "One of the many things you'll say that night." Ready for it this time, he caught her hand and cringed. "Don't hit me again. I have booboos"

Blinking at him, Bella shook her head as best she could as she chuckled quietly. "You're an ass."

Looking back down at her, his head was slightly turned. "I thought I was a resounding ass." When her face flattened and she leveled him with an unamused expression, he cleared his throat and settled back against her pillows. "I'll stop."

The rest of the evening was spent watching movies... or Bella watched them. Paul didn't make it through the previews of the first one before he fell asleep, and the movie wasn't fifteen minutes in before his breathing leveled completely and he was out for the count. Several times she had to get up so she could cool down, and about an hour after sundown, had to fly downstairs as fast as she could to head Charlie off at the pass so he wouldn't open her door and find a half naked man in her bed. Sure, Charlie had decided he liked Paul, but that didn't in anyway mean he wanted him sleeping in his daughter's bed. Especially when she was still only 17, and Charlie knew Paul was in his twenties. Sure, she would be 18 in a couple weeks, but until then, if Paul pissed her police chief of a father off, it had the potential to turn into a huge mess.

She stayed downstairs long enough to make her dad something to eat, and hung out in the living room with him for about an hour after that before he announced it was late and he was heading up to bed, suggesting she should do the same. Before he vanished into his room, she told him she wouldn't be home for most of the day because she, Kim, and Emily were heading up to Seattle for a girl's day, and they were leaving pretty early in the morning. Since it was true Kim and Emily were heading out of the area, he could actually check if he wanted, and the story would hold up.

Scratching the under part of his chin, Charlie hummed. "Girl's day, huh? You sure it isn't you and that boyfriend of yours heading up to the city?"

Biting into the corner of her lip, she shrugged. "Didn't think he would be into manicures."

Setting his hand on the knob to his door, Charlie grunted. "Didn't think you were. Kim driving?" When Bella nodded, so did he. "You girls be careful, and answer your cell."

Passing him in the hall, she smiled at him as he stepped into his room. "Will do. Night, Dad."

"Good night, Bells."

For the often strained relationship she had with Charlie, she really did hate lying to him. Leaning against her door once she closed it, she sighed and looked to the window. This was second time she was telling her father a lie about the where and why only a few scant hours before she went running off to see a vampire. Pursing her lips, she shook her head and climbed back into bed next to Paul, leaving the TV on to cover the fact Paul kinda snored.

If she lived tomorrow, she vowed this would be the last time she lied to her dad about what she was doing.


	15. Chapter 15

As she was walking back into her room, Bella jumped slightly at the sound of a tap on her window, her hand grabbing the front of her shirt as she let out a harsh breath. Shaking her head, she tiptoed across the room, unlatching the lock, and sliding it open, moving just enough to the side to allow entry to the surprising annoyed looking vampire that waited on the other side. Scratching the bridge of her nose, she cleared her throat. "Good morning."

Arms crossed over his chest as he leaned back against the wall next to the open window, Demetri looked first to the bed that held a still completely unconscious wolf, before returning his freshly fed, glowing red eyes on the human that had single handedly turned his life upside down. Though his voice wasn't necessarily unfriendly, to certain held a bite to it. "You are aware what dawn is, correct?"

Rubbing her eyes and doing her best to muffle a yawn, she then sniffled as she nodded. "Yeah, but... cut us some slack, Demetri." Opening her eyes, her face was drawn and eyes droopy. "Some of us do actually need sleep.

Slowly lifting a brow, he uncrossed one arm and pointed a thumb over his shoulder towards the woods. "The others were able to arrive on time, and they weren't already present."

Blinking, Bella looked out the window, letting out a harder breath when she saw the forms of both Sam and Jared just past the treeline. She wasn't all that surprised not to see Embry, figuring he would be put in charge of Kim and Emily's safety since he was the newest to the pack. Lips pressed together and cheeks puffed, Bella nodded. "Give us five minutes."

Pushing himself off the wall, Demetri looked down at her. "You have three, or I wake him up."

Eyes widening to an owlish size, she was quick to shake her head hard, putting her hands up. "No... no, don't do that. My dad is on the other side of that wall. I would really like to not have to explain why there are two creatures fighting in my room before the sun comes up."

Placing his foot on the windowsill, he glanced back at the snoring shifter. "Then I suggest you not dally."

Looking at the place where he vanished, Bella clicked her tongue. "Consider the dillying dallied." Trying to finish waking up herself, she moved to the side of the bed, and scratched the back of her head. She wasn't at all sure the best way to wake him up without him making a peep, but he wasn't exactly the most graceful riser, so biting the proverbial bullet, she wrapped her fingers around his shoulder and gave him a shake. "Paul."

Fucker didn't even flinch.

Blowing a puff of air up her face and blowing a piece of hair out of her face, she shook him a little harder, leaning closer and speaking louder. "Paul. Wake up." When that still didn't have the desired effect, and knowing Demetri wasn't kidding about coming back to do it himself, she dug her nails in his skin and snapped his name again, right in his ear.

She wasn't sure which part of that got him up, but his eyes snapped open as a growl slipped past his lips. Finding himself staring into redish brown eyes, he groaned before pushing himself up onto his elbow and run a hand down his face. "You owe me, Swan."

Jerking back from the statement, her lip curled. "For what?"

Turning his head far to each side, he sighed as his neck cracked before looking back at her. "You have no idea what you just interrupted."

The smoldering of his eyes and tone of his voice was enough to tell her exactly what she woke him up from and, though she did blush slightly, it was nothing compared to before. She was mostly used to everything that came out of his mouth somehow being related to sex, but just because she was used to it didn't mean she always wanted to hear it. Licking her lips, she coughed. "Sorry?" Then she used her head to point to the window. "Everyone's waiting." Then she looked at the clock on her bedside table. "And Demetri said if we aren't outside in like, 45 seconds, he's coming back."

Nose wrinkling, Paul pulled his knees under him, and climbed out of the bed. Lacing his fingers together, he rose them above his head to pop his spine back in alignment. "Is that why it smells in here?" When Bella shrugged, he hummed. "Right. Get your shoes and we'll go. Sure hope that fucker knows what he's doing."

' _You and me, both.'_ It wasn't that she actually trusted Demetri, but she was put in the position where she really didn't have a choice. She still didn't understand why Aro would have any kind of vested interest in her seeing sunset today, and she was having a hard time figuring out why he cared so much if something were to happen to her. Sure, Paul would be pissed and would very likely retaliate, but Aro made zero secret about just how many vampires he had at his disposal, so what would it really matter to him if there was one shifter that wanted his head?

Also, she couldn't exactly forget what happened with the last set of vampires she blindly trusted, and she certainly didn't want to be put back into the same situation a second time... especially when there were a whole hell of a lot more vampires involved this time.

Still, she grabbed her boots, pulled them on, and tied them. Either way it went, all she could really do was hope to God this ended today.

As far as Paul was concerned, there was no way, on this planet or any other, he was handing his imprint off to a parasite without some form of explanation as to what his plans were. Did he think the guy would tell him exactly what was running through his mind? Hell no he didn't expect that. He certainly wouldn't give every last detail if roles were reversed and he was put in charge of the tracker's mate, but to be told to hold nothing but blind faith he would see Bella alive again wasn't gonna cut it.

So with that in mind, as he and Bella approached the treeline, he looked Demetri dead in the eyes. "So, ready to tell us what the plan is yet?"

His hands in the pockets of his slacks, the hood of his open cloak up to block his skin from the cresting sun, though more out of habit than necessity, Demetri had his foot propped on the tree he leaned against. It was the most relaxed anyone present could say they've seen him, and his facial expression didn't even crack as he turned his red eyes on the shifter that finally grew a pair and asked that. It wasn't that he was keeping some well guarded secret, but more, he didn't just offer up information, either. "We're going to go wipe out an army, Pup. I had thought that was obvious."

Glaring, Paul humphed before walking over to a tree, unzipped his shorts, pulled his dick out and proceeded to piss on the tree. Without looking back at the vampire when he grunted, Paul went ahead and kept talking. "That's not what I meant, and you know it."

Eyes rolling skyward, Demetri clicked his tongue. "I admit it has been a very long time, but when I was human, that was something one did in private."

Shrugging a shoulder, he shook himself free, and tucked himself back in his pants. "I just woke up and had to take a piss. If you weren't so damn impatient, it would've been done in private."

Scratching his brow, Demetri sighed. "You were given a precise time to be up and ready to depart, Pup. It is hardly my fault you are incapable of following a simple command. Your little morsel certainly has her work cut out for her when it comes to obedience training." A smirk pulled at his lips when Paul growled at him, and there was a chuckle in his throat. "Such a temper. I answered your question. If that is not what you wanted to know, perhaps you should voice what it is you do... and quickly."

Glare darkening, Paul turned to face the asshole fully. "What the fuck do you plan to do with my imprint, Leech?"

A look of mock surprise crossed Demetri's face, as if that couldn't have possibly be what was meant. "Oh... that." Lifting a shoulder, he answered. "It's really quite simple. When the army descends on the smell of a meal, I will remove her from the area and keep her heart beating."

Snorting without amusement, Paul crossed his arms. "That's hardly a plan, Asshole."

Leveling him with a look, Demetri remained as calm as ever. "And I hardly know how many will attempt to follow, or how many will succeed. I am a tracker, not a fortune teller. Something to remember, Pup; the best laid plans are the ones with the ability to improvise. If you go in with too much already worked out, it is nothing but a disservice, and will lead to your downfall. All you need to know is she will be returned to you in the same condition in which I take her... or as close as feasibly possible, anyway. We are dealing with children, after all."

Shaking his head, Paul all but snarled. "That's not gonna cut it." When Demetri shrugged again, Paul's eye narrowed. "Would you accept that answer if the situation was reversed and involved your mate?"

Genuinely surprised at the question, Demetri blinked. "My mate?" Pausing a moment, he then tilted his head. "For one, even for the handful Jade can make of herself when the mood strikes, she would never put herself in the position to need the protection of a shifter..." trailing off, his lip then curled. "At least I certainly hope not." Making a mental note to have a chat with his mate when he returned home, he shook his head and continued. "To another point, I am not so inept as to be unable to kill a single human in some misguided attempt at revenge and have to resort to building an army to do it for me. The reason I am taking charge of your imprint, beyond what we have already discussed, is because you are wolves... pack animals. Your strength come from your numbers and your ability to work together. It is those two attributes that will allow you to continue to defend your territory, and once it is spread your pack is able to destroy an army of newborns, it is pretty fucking unlikely this will ever again come up in the future and if it does, you will not need us in any form.

"Do not mistake your involvement today as one of necessity. We are far better suited to deal with this ourselves and you to stay the hell out of it and our way. It's all coming from a very selfish place, to be honest. You don't trust me... smart on your part. However, while you may not trust me personally, if you want your mate returned to you still human, you are going to have to at least trust my ability to do a job I've been doing for a very, very long time. I have become quite efficient at keeping very stubborn females alive; a fact my own mate can attest to. You think your Little Stella here has her ass in a jam?" Locking his red eyes on Paul's, Demetri became far more serious that he had ever been. "Pup, you don't know the meaning of the phrase."

Feeling multiple sets of eyes on him, Paul's own eyes scanned the face of his imprint as well as his pack brothers before he sighed to himself and looked back at Demetri. "One hair out of place, and I'll kill you."

His smirk returning, Demetri stood to his full height and chuckled. "You are welcome to try. Now, shall we be on our way?"

Before he did anything else, he closed the distance between himself and Bella. The flat of his hand on the small of her back, he pulled her to him and, with the side of his finger under her chin to tilt her head back, Paul dipped his head and pressed his lips to hers.

The heat of his skin against hers never failed to set her blood fire these days, and when he deepened their kiss for only a moment, she was actually chilly when he pulled back and vanished into the trees with a plead to her to be safe because that was the last thing he would be able to say to her until this was over.

Shaking out his fur after he phased, Paul picked up his shorts in his teeth and walked back into the clearing, Bella taking them from him as he laid on his belly so she could climb on his back. However, since he was still too tall and always having help up before, she squealed at the frozen hands that settled on her waist and lifted her feet off the ground. It was little more than just being taken off guard, though, so she just situated herself on Paul's back with a quiet thanks to Demetri.

All he did was nod back, wait for her to get her grip, and took off into wood in the direction of the rest of his fellow guards who were waiting outside the range of vampire senses.

Bella hand her fingers threaded in Paul's fur and her face buried between his shoulder blades. It wasn't raining, but it was overcast. The air itself was warm, but the wind that flew over her skin from the speed at which Paul ran to keep up with what had to be the fastest mother fucker on the planet sent shivers and tremors down her spin. It was only because of the heat of Paul's body she didn't convulsively shiver right off his back.

She had gone on runs with Edward, and thought he was fast, but he didn't have the ease or agility of the vampire in front of them. She also found out that the wolves were all but water as they weaved between trees that had looked to her far too close for them to fit between. They jumped over bushes and lept from rocks. It was like the three had unlimited stamina when it came to running because they never slowed and stuck together as they got further and further from what was considered their territory. She wasn't sure where they were going, but as the jumps started to get more dangerous, she hoped they got there soon.


	16. Chapter 16

" _Where the fuck is this prick taking us?"_

Neither Sam or Jared had an answer to Paul's question, but they both were starting to wonder the same thing. They had been running now for going on twenty minutes, and it didn't seem to either of them that he intended on slowing down anytime soon. They were getting closer to Mount Rainier, and every mile they covered, the more the smell of death and decay burned their noses.

Sam, who was in the lead position, snorted out a hard puff from his nose as it became clear how all these vampires have been feeding. Hikers and campers in the park, hunters outside the park's border, and likely mountain dwellers that live in and around the area. There was certainly never a shortage of people in the area, and a missing hiker or camper would be far easier to hide than people that lived in a city or town. That almost made him consider how all the guards that were called had been feeding, but he couldn't really bring himself to solidify the thought must past that.

When they caught a few more familiar scents, and Demetri started to slow down, Sam's voice was then heard. " _Keep on your guard. They have the upper hand here. We don't know where this army is. They do."_

Both Jared and Paul bobbed their heads as they slowed to a stop, Bella pushing herself to sit up on Paul's back, and pulling her jacket tighter around her to accommodate the loss of heat against her chest.

Demetri, either not noticing the wolves stopped before reaching the group of guards or not caring they did, spring boarded off a low lying branch and launched himself into the air. Kicking his legs over, he turned a somersault, and landed on a knee and hand in the middle of the rather large clearing. Standing up, he looked first to the shadows where the wolves waited before addressing his underlings. "I don't think I have to tell any of you the human is off limits. So much as a sniff, and you head is mine. You would all do well to picture Jade when you look her direction, because I will not tolerate anyone else making my life anymore difficult." Turning to the trees, he then addressed the wolves. "Remember the main here threat is the children. They should be your focus. They are numerous, and they are hungry. You have blood in your vains. Your... scent, isn't even close to a deterrent here. If they think they can feed, they will bite. If memory serves, that's death for you no matter if they succeed in feeding or not." Lifting the cuff of his jacket, he looked at his watch and grunted. "Stella..." Chuckling when there was a squeak, he pulled his sleeve back into place and looked her direction. "When you're ready."

Rubbing her arms, Bella swallowed hard as Paul lowered himself to the ground, making it easier for her to slid off his back. When she was on her feet, she set his shorts down behind a bush where they would be easy to find, and turned back to look at him as he stood back up.

Slowly closing the distance between him and her, Paul dipped his massive head and pressed the length of his muzzle against her chest. His eyes closed when her nails raked against his scalp behind his ears and she set her forehead against his. He was able to swallow back the whimper in his throat, if only barely, and pulled his head back when she dropped her arms. He watched her try and smile in a way that would be reassuring, but he was really fucking tempted to throat her ass back on his back and just let the vampires clean house on their own. He understood the full concept of why she was there, but that didn't mean he had to like it. She wasn't here because of the newborns. She was there to draw out the four older ones that would just do this again if they weren't taken out.

All he could do was follow her as she turned and walked into the clearing, Bella cringing back when ten sets of red eyes turned her direction. Though she figured there would be more than that, she didn't question it, not sure she would be able to take the answer. With one last look at Paul, Bella let out a breath, crossed her arms loosely over her chest, and looked at Demetri. "Let's get this over with."

Nodding his head, Demetri clasped his hands behind his back, and looked at her. "Very well. All you have to do is catch the attention of a single newborn, and the rest will follow. They don't know how to track anything, so they will simply follow their nose. I will not allow to them to get close enough to follow the sound of your heart, which is far easier to find. They will follow your trail, hear the sound of beating hearts, and then follow them. It will then be up to your wolves and my guards."

Licking her lips, she then cleared her throat. "Okay and, how do I do that?"

Lips parting in a grin, he turned to the side, and held out a hand. "Let's go for a walk." Following a loud gulp from Bella, Demetri looked to the guards. "Make yourselves disappear."

All Bella did was blink and the clearing was empty except for Paul and Demetri. She looked at Paul and once again tried to smile at him. "I'm attached. Be careful."

Shaking off the level of wrong that settled in his gut over the situation, he forced himself to snort hard and used his head to shove her towards the other side of the clearing. He was hoping to give off a different vibe than he actually felt, and when she swatted at his nose and called him a cocky bastard, he knew he succeeded in that effort. He had a brief loathing of the imprint the moment Bella vanished into the trees with a vampire. Jared was right...

This shit would be so much easier without it.

Still, he turned and darted into the trees and back to his pack to wait for the coming fight.

For Bella, she made sure she brushed against leaves and bushes as she walked next to Demetri, who seemed as calm as ever. She was on the verge of throwing up, and he was acting like this was business as usual. She didn't doubt it was, but still. He could at least _look_ like this was somewhat of a serious situation.

After a while of silence, she looked up at him. "So, out of curiosity..." When he glanced down at her, she cocked her head. "If something bad happens and any of those guards don't survive, I'm not, like, gonna end up with hundreds of vampires vying for my head, am I?"

There was a hard snort of pure amusement as Demetri chuckled and shook his head. "Surely not. If any of those guards die, I don't want them serving next to me anyway. If someone that is centuries old cannot kill someone days into this life, they are little more than a disgrace to the Arms and deserved to die."

Grunting as she crossed her arms and looked to the ground. "That's harsh."

Uncaring, Demetri slipped his hands into the pockets of his jacket. "It's the truth. Vampire politics don't care about human sensitivities. Besides, it's understood that anyone that gets sent on a mission of any kind might not return, and revenge isn't something we care for, or are even really allowed to partake in. We are the killers of our race, and that comes with the culpability of Karma."

Biting into her lip, she looked up at him from the corner of her eye. "So if you don't return, your mate isn't going to come after me?"

Taking a moment to consider how to answer that, he hummed. "Jade is at the best of times unpredictable, so she might, but I very much doubt it. More likely, she'll piss off someone with the capability of ending her life rather than wasting her time with someone that will die anyway. That said, it will take far more than this inconvenience to kill me, and she knows it."

Unable to help it, Bella scoffed. "This is an inconvenience to you?"

Looking down at her, Demetri cocked a brow. "Newborns, even these ones, hold no candle to many of the other supernaturals that walk the earth that I have had to dealt with. Take on a colony of pissed off leprechauns and you'll understand the definition of a challenge. I won't say this situation is easy by any means, but I'll take newborns of my own race over other supernaturals any fucking day."

Blinking, Bella paused. "Wait... leprechauns exist?"

Turning to the side, there was a spark of almost glee in his glowing red eyes as Demetri flashed her a teeth filled smirk. "They did." When shock settled on Bella face, he then chuckled at the memory. "It is as I told your wolf. You think your ass is in a jam? You don't know the meaning of the phrase. You attract supernaturals. My mate seeks them out because she just..." rubbing his temples, he sighed, "can't help herself. She gets a little bored, and I get very busy." Returning his eyes to Bella's as his ears perked up at the sound of footfalls, he grinned. "I am very good at putting out the fires of a wayward mate. After nearly seven hundred years of having with one, there is very little I haven't dealt with. On a minor side note, if you believe in God, now would be time to send Him a prayer."

Giving her no time to ask a question, or even react, he slipped off his cloak, flung it around her shoulder, scooped her up in his arm, and jumped into the trees. Ready for the scream he knew was coming, he still winced at the pitch as he lept from branch to branch in the canopy. When he determined himself to be far enough away that the infants wouldn't hear the human's heart beat, he stopped, but remained in the trees.

Crouching on a thick enough branch to support them them both, he settled her on the branch next to the truck, but keeping a grip on her to ensure she didn't fall, he looked back and watched as the hoard ran right where they had been. It would take them another few moments before they would hear the hearts of the wolves, but he was positive they wouldn't have caught the fact Bella was no longer present since she was now covered over in his scent that blended too far into the surroundings for nearly any vampire to notice. He was all but invisible to his kind in the wilderness, which was why he wanted to take the fight to them and not the other way around. It would have been much more difficult to hide the human during this pivotal point had that been the case.

Wrapping one of her arms around the one of Demetri's that was wrapped around her waist, Bella pushed the hood up and out of her line of sight and looked up before turning her attention to where his was. There were trees and leaves in her way, but ducking her head slightly, she was able to catch a glimpse of the newborns if they stopped, and her hand came up to cover her mouth. Not to try and muffle any sort of sound, but more to try and not vomit at what she saw. The skin of the ones she saw was discolored in places, and there was a glistening that wasn't the diamond like hue she was used to.

Hearing the sound of her stomach rolling when she saw the decomposing bodies of the newborns on their way to the clearing, he lowered his head and whispered in her ear. "Do not puke on my jacket." Flicking his eyes back to the trail they were on, he grunted when she said no promises. "Don't let their appearance fool you, Stella; their skin is no easier to break than mine. They are rotting from the inside out, not the outside in. If you think they look bad... be glad you can't smell them."

He continued to watch as the entire hoard of newborns, counting 32 in all, run towards their deaths, but the reason for them, the four older vampires, were noticeably absent. It was actually almost unexpected on Demetri's part that they would be smart enough to avoid the little trap not a half mile away, but look at them, having a whole brain between them.

It wasn't, however, an issue. What it was, was entertainment, and something look forward to when the remaining Cullens and their new little friends finally grew some balls and showed themselves willingly. He certainly didn't want to have to go after them. While he would absolutely kill all four, he had promised the human's safety, repeatedly, and heading into their den held the slight possibility of injury to the girl he had assured to return as she was. He wasn't going to wait forever, though. His patience had a limit, and with the fact he hadn't gotten laid in nearly a month because he was summoned straight to Seattle from a different assignment, that limit was drawing dangerously near.


	17. Chapter 17

It was chaos.

It was Hell coming to Earth as the swarm of brand new vampires converged on the clearing, the guards sliding around to block their exit as the wolves met them head on.

Darting out from the underbrush, Paul and his brothers were all teeth and claws as they lunged at the taken off guard mass of bodies. However, the shock wasn't long lived before the scent of blood took over their minds and all 32 vampires when into a frenzy for it.

Of the ten guards that were present, only six descended on the swarm, the other four remaining in the trees to ensure there was no way even a single one escaped their death sentence as the wolves and Elite Guards systematically tore the army apart.

The sound of snarls and growls was overshadowed by the sound of shattering stone as body parts started flying. Paul, in a shocking turn of events to his pack and Felix, came to the guard's defense when he was attacked from behind.

His focus on the newborn in his grasp, he didn't see the one coming at his back, and Paul, who did, darted across the clearing, jumping over Felix's head, his mouth wide, and snapped his jaw closed with crushing force around the torso of the ice sculpture.

Felix whipped around after removing the head of the newborn in his hand in time to see Paul violently rip the head off and throw it into the trees. Their eyes locked for a moment, and Felix grunted. "I won't say thank you."

' _Well, you're fucking welcome anyway, ya fucking douche nozzle. How 'bout that?'_ Still with little more than a loud outward growl, Paul was off again, his teeth bared as he rejoined his pack.

As the battle raged, that wasn't the only instance of enemies coming to the aid of the other. Jared was tackled to the ground, and Alec, who had had his arm ripped off by Jared during their training the day before, was able to get to the wolf's side before the newborn had the chance to sink its teeth into Jared's shoulder by sacrificing his forearm instead. Diving over Jared's back, Alec placed his arm in the way, and took the vampire with him, whiping them both around so the newborn was now face down and wish a jerk back of his arm, removed the head. Drop kicking the head into an already started fire, Alex licked his palm and clamped it over the ow gaping wound in his arm with a hiss. Rubbing away the sting, he remained by Jared's side until he was able to get back to his feet, and they separated like that didn't just happen.

Sam came out of nowhere and crushed the head of another in his mouth that was poised to remove the head of Aften, who then returned the favor when yet another newborn got her hands on Sam's tail.

Body parts that didn't make it into the fire were used as weapons. There was brief moments of laughter between the wolves when they saw Corin smack the shit out of a newborn with its own arm to stun it enough to then kick it into a fire with its head still attached.

For all the progress they were making, it just didn't seem to matter. Something Demetri had said to Paul the day before surfaced in the minds of the wolves, and they all heaved a collective sigh.

 _Where there is one, there is always more. It's not over until it's over.'_

Just over halfway to the finish line, all three would be lying if they said they weren't starting to tire. These little monsters really didn't stop if they still had their head on their shoulders. Hell, they had seen one that was nothing but a head, shoulders, and one arm dragging itself across the ground heading in Sam's until one of the guards they didn't know the name of crushed its head beneath his boot.

Panting hard, Paul's voice was hard. ' _This is fucking stupid. They just. Won't. Die. This can't get more fucked up."_ Almost like the cosmos took the comment at a challenge, there was an Earth shaking clap of thunder, making the face of the wolf go completely flat. " _Fucking seriously?"_

As the rain began to fall, the four hidden guards left the trees and took their place next to their bosses and lended a hand with the remaining ten newborns. It didn't escape any of their notice that ALL they dealt with was the children. None of them were older than a month, and what that meant was not lost on anyone. The ones they really wanted were able to hunt the human, and they did.

And all she had between her and certain death was one vampire.

When the last newborn was set ablaze, Paul took off into the trees, leaving the vampires to clean up the remaining mess. The rain had wiped out Bella's scent trail she left when she went with Demetri, but he wasn't going to stop until he found her.

Sam and Jared going after him, they all hunted for any sign of either of them to follow, but with the heaviness of the rain, all three of them there knew was nothing to find.

Dancing around in almost a prance, high pitched whines in his throat, Paul threw his head back and howled. He wasn't sure what he was after, but he had to hope some kind of response would be given. When it was meat with silence, he picked a direction and just started running again. He didn't know if it was the right one or not, but Sam and Jared ran with him, neither one of them allowing their thoughts to surface.

It was clearly now up to the tracker to return Paul's imprint as promised. Paul didn't trust anyone, and to have to put every ounce his did have into the hands of a human drinking vampire, well...

The son of a bitch better keep that fucking promise.

For Paul, his mind wasn't even working properly at the moment. He was so focused on smelling through the rain for any sign of either a human or a vampire, he probably wouldn't have heard a word either Sam or Jared said even if they did try talking to him. It had taken nearly an hour to deal with the hoard of demons, and he was tired, had a broken hand and a couple of fractured ribs, but he didn't let that stop him from running as fast as he could get his legs to move.

Paws pounding against the ground, the three wolves headed further away from ground zero, and deeper into unknown waters.


	18. Chapter 18

Landing on the ground without a sound, Demetri placed Bella on her feet and pulled his hood back over her hair. Her heartbeat was something he wouldn't be able to hide, but he _could_ make it much harder to find.

Eyes cutting to where he knew the condemned to be coming from, he leaned his shoulder blades against the tree and pulled Bella by the wrist so she was hidden by him and the tree, and waited. While doing so, he looked down as he unbuttoned the cuff of his shirt and began to roll the sleeve up to his elbow. Doing the same with the other, he didn't look at the girl when he spoke. "Calm yourself, Stella. A heart attack on your part breaks the word on mine of your safe return."

Trying to settle back down, Bella couldn't remove her eyes from the scarred looking skin of Demetri's arms. She had only ever really seen the one on Edward's neck from where Carlisle bit him, so she knew what they were. Whimpering in her throat, she glanced up at Demetri as she leaned closer into the tree. "Are those..." She wanted to make sure before she really freaked out.

Head tilting to the side, he make the most undignified noise Bella had heard him make, and his lip curled high in the corner. "Teeth marks. Every one is further reason why I detest newborns, the little bastards." Holding one of his arms out for closer inspection by the human, the sourness didn't fade from his face or his voice. "And these are from the smart ones." Undoing three buttons of his shirt, he pulled the collar to the side, exposing the top of his left pectoral and a divot in his chest. Running his thumb over it, he grunted. "This is what happens when you get bit by the simple minded beasts."

Eyes going wide, Bella's hand came up to cover her parted lips. It looked like someone had literally taken a mouthful of his skin. Eyes sliding up to his, she swallowed hard. "That... looks like it hurt."

Snorting without amusement, Demetri fixed his shirt. "It certainly didn't feel good. All the speed and strength of a newborn vampire, with the mental capacity of a newborn human. Not exactly the best combination."

As she licked her lips, she caught sight of his collarbone, and grimaced. "How many times have they tried to take off your head?"

As he adjusted his collar, he glanced at her, a cross of both annoyance and offence of his face as he propped his foot against the tree and settled his shoulder blades against it. "They don't get that close to my neck and keep their own head." She didn't get any words out, but he got the gist when she pointed to the top of her own shoulder where it met her neck, and his eyes sparked as he chuckled deep in his throat. "Those aren't from newborns." Chuckling again, he crossed his arms as he grinned. "Jade likes to bite." Dipping his head, he lowered his voice and spoke in her ear. "Makes her feel powerful."

A shiver shot down Bella's spine as his icy breath danced across her skin, and she dropped her face into her hand. "Jesus Christ..." Were all supernatural men perverts?

Laughing outright, Demetri then returned his attention to the approaching vampires. "As your mate will do anything for you, I will do the same for mine. Every single one hurts, and every single one scars. However, the look in her eyes as she holds my life in her hands is as gratifying to me as it is to her." When he heard an odd sound come from the human, he glanced back at her. "I told you, the Cullen Coven is the last group you should base your ideals of us on. The two remaining ones should have already proven that."

Frowning and looking down, Bella licked her lips again. "If something happened to Jade, would you not try and kill the one responsible?"

Growling in his throat, he locked eyes on the former Cullen matriarch. "The Devil himself would cower at the mere thought of what I would do to them. But, I would kill the one responsible without mercy, not make friends. As it stands however, I'm going to kill the ones responsible for only keeping me away from her, so I might not be the best basis of control when it comes to what one would do when their mate is involved."

By all technical accounts, the mercenary and his mate had not actually broken any laws. Depending on how it was presented, they could claim to have been upholding the exposure law, though in the most inefficient way possible, when it came to what happened when the Cullen Coven perished. They didn't create a single newborn, so the only crime they actually committed was knowing about and not reporting the creation of an army so close to human habitation, which is not punishable by death.

The remaining Cullens were business. The other two, in Demetri's mind, were nothing but pleasure kills.

For as annoying as the situation was, and while he still didn't care if her heart stopped or not, Demetri did actually like the human to a very short extent. She nearly reminded him of his mate when Jade was human with the way she just couldn't keep herself out of trouble. He was positive that was reason he felt the spark of protectiveness he did when it came to Bella and, under different circumstances, he was damn sure his Love would kill to meet the human. Hell, under different circumstances, he might even allow it.

A clap of thunder came from nowhere, making Bella scream and Demetri growl at her. For the love of it, did the bitch have some lungs. When it started to rain, Bella pulled the hood closer around her face and whimpered an apology.

As the two Cullens stepped from the trees, Bella's heart kicked up and stomach dropped when their bright red eyes settled on her. Pressing herself just a little harder against the bark of the tree, and as a second perk hid herself more behind Demetri, and closed her eyes. She really didn't want to see her death coming. She could almost feel herself being boxed in, and when she whimpered quietly in her throat, it was answered with a nearly maniacal laugh.

Demetri, however, didn't even twitch. He just kept his eyes on the two in front of him, and took a deep scent of the air, a smirk pulling at his lips when he finally caught the scent of the self-proclaimed tracker. Had he not gotten the scent, the two could have vanished and he never would have been able to find them. Now, if they decide to run, he could hunt them down at his leisure since it appeared they didn't seem inclined to attend this particular meeting. Still, he spoke to Bella, making no attempt to keep the other two from hearing him. "Settle, Stella. Nothing is going to happen to you without them going through me... and they know it."

Esme and Rosalie looked at each other, but it was the outspoken Rose that decided to dig them both a deeper grave. "She deserves to die, and you owe us this. Picking the side of a human over the side of your own kind? Disgusting."

Slowly lifting a brow, Demetri continued to merely stand there, fully unaffected by the words or the heaviness of the storm. "Owe you? I owe you nothing. We were on your side until the situation changed and those pesky little facts arose. Even were I to allow you to kill the human, your death is still going to happen. An army? Really? Carlisle would be so proud."

It was then Esme spoke up. "You gave us no choice! We came to you for help and you refused us."

Leveling her with a look, Demetri hummed. "Wrong. There were guards in place to deal with the human in a way to allow for minimal exposure, something you two are incapable of, and the situation changed. The mate of a supernatural is no threat to supernaturals, and is no risk to us, therefore no care of mine."

A chime sounded on the air pulled Demetri's attention to the human behind him, who was wearing his jacket that held his phone. Not taking his eyes off the vampires in front of him, he uncrossed his arms and held out a hand for the phone Bella had fished out of his inner pocket. Not looking at it, he flipped it open and set it to his ear. "Demetri."

' _The deed is done, and the wolves are looking for you."_

A dark smirk pulled at his lips as his eyes sparked. "Wonderful. Let's give them something to find." Closing his phone, he handed it back to Bella and pushed himself off the tree. "I am going to give you your wish of death because it is my orders. When I'm done with you, I'm going to kill your new friends just for fun."

With another ear splitting clap of thunder, the vampires vanished from Bella's sight, and the chase was on.


	19. Chapter 19

To give credit he wasn't normally known for, Demetri would have to admit, the two females were better at maneuvering then he would have thought. Evasive tactics were things even a few of the guards had a difficult time with, but once he got a lock on the tenor of someone's mind, there was no actual escape. They took him on a run, though, and he almost had a spark of respect for them.

Rain now coming down sheets, he stood over the pile that was Rose, who lasted about a mile more than Esme, and had his head tilted to the side as he toyed with the Zippo in his hand. Humming in his throat, he clicked his tongue. "I do wonder, if you find your male in the afterlife, if he'll still want you. You tried to kill what he died to protect. Personally, I would kill you again."

Standing, he looked to where he knew the dogs were. They weren't far off, but they weren't heading the right direction either. Almost, but even a single degree difference in angle, and they'll never find the human. Looking to the sky, he again spoke out loud when he returned his attention to the minds of the wolves. "Let's see how well your noses work." Flicking the flame to life, he dropped it on the venom soaked mass of body parts and fabric, chuckling an order to 'Come, Puppies'.

It was as he was on his way back to the other pile of parts he heard a scream over the storm. Growling in his throat, he snarled out a 'damn it', and took off in a dead sprint. He dropped another lighter on the pile of dead Esme as he passed to leave a trail for the dogs to follow, he hauled ass back to the human. If she was screaming, she was at least still alive, so there was that. His gift didn't work on her for whatever fucking reason, and he didn't know how anyone could have possibly found her during this storm. Her scent had been hidden by his, and any other part of her humanity should have been masked by the storm.

Skidding into the small clearing he left Bella in, he dropped to a knee and ducked his head down to avoid getting hit in the face with a flying piece of vampire. Snapping his head around, he watched another head bounced off a tree, and slowly turned back to the female vampire between him and his charge. Her long hair was plastered to her exposed skin, and as Demetri stood up, his voice was flat. "What are you doing here?"

Playing Hacky Sack with the head of James, Jade turned to her male, her eyes bright when she saw him standing there, his white dress shirt soaked and showing off the godlike body underneath. Her voice was bemused as she kicked the head into the trees. "I missed you."

Rolling his eyes, he walked across the clearing toward the two females with a sigh. "I was to be home tomorrow, Agapimenos."

Looking up at her love, she flashed him a smile as she leaned against him when he stopped before her. "Well, I wanted to see you today." Then she giggled. "And you weren't fucking kidding, D'tri. This chick is like a magnet for our kind." Her eyes lit up and her smile widened. "Can we keep her? I bet she would be a lot of fun around the palace. Can you imagine how tightly that would bunch Aro's panties?"

Scratching his brow with a thumb nail, he signed. "Uh... no. Besides, my love, I'm sure someone else would have something to say about that."

Hand raising to catch his jacket that was thrown at him as Bella ran around him and his mate, he turned to the side and watched as she jumped into her wolf's open and waiting arms.

Wrapping his arms around her as she wrapped her legs around his waist, Paul spun his girl in a circle, more to keep her from knocking him down that anything because... broken ribs. With her grip around his neck and hips, he was able to let of her her with fear of her falling, grab her face, and press his lips hard against hers. It wasn't exactly easy, but he was able to ignore the smell of bleach and candy long enough to kiss Bella completely breathless and leave her panting.

Dropping her legs, she put her feet back on the ground, and leaned heavily into Paul's warmth. Rubbing her cheek against his chest, she sighed and would have been perfectly happy to stay there for a time had it not been for a bell like giggle behind her. Turning only enough to see Jade, Bella cocked a brow. "What's so funny?"

Fingertips pressed to her lips, Jade continued to giggle for a moment before she licked her bottom lip and drew it between her teeth. "Nothing. But you, Stella, are one lucky girl."

Bella didn't have even the slightest idea what she was talking about, but the boys did. Paul, in all his cocky ways, smirked and Demetri, with exasperation, pinched the bridge of his nose. "Jade..."

Looking up at Demetri with purely bullshit innocence in her eyes, scoffed. "What?" Holding a hand out towards Paul, she continued. "You can't just wave something like that around in front of people and not expect someone to say something. I mean... look at it. Lucky fucking girl." Looking Bella straight in the eyes, she smirked. "Trust me."

It had completely escaped Bella's notice that Paul was as naked as the day he was born, but instead of backing away, she leaned more into his hold as she looked back at Jade. "I know."

Running a hand down his face with another sign, he then flicked his fingers at his mate's face, splashing the little shit with rain water. "Hush." Turning to look at the wolf that was looking back at them with something like amusement on his face, Demetri's flattened as Jade wrapped both her arms around one of his and rubbed her nose against his shoulder. "Handful." When Paul snorted, he then looked at Bella. "Stella..." When she looked at him, he gave her an actual smile that didn't hold an ounce of the more sadistic nature he had always shown towards her. "While this has been entertaining, I do not ever want to see you again."

Nodding in completely agreement, she smiled back. "Ditto."

Jade, however, completely disagreed. "Ya know, if you're ever in Italy..."

Indulgent was the only way to describe Demetri's face when he looked down at his mate. "Jade." Humphing, Jade frowned but nodded, and Demetri turned held out a hand so she would proceed him out of the clearing. Before he left the clearing himself, he looked back at the couple. "If you do ever find yourself in Italy..." Trailing off and leaving it at that, he dipped his head and vanished into the slowing storm.

Alone in the clearing, it was a little harder of a pill to swallow being held so close to a very, very naked body, but if she was bothered by it, Bella didn't show it. Besides, it wasn't like it was the first time that day she had seen Paul's dick.

Paul, on the other hand, was no longer able to take the overwhelming stench of vampire that coated every single hair on the girl's body. Not letting her go, but leaning back a bit, he looked looked down at her with a wrinkled nose. "Bella, Baby, you reak."

Not nearly as nice as he was, she snorted as she propped her chin on his chest. "And you smell like a dirty gym sock. Which is worse?"

Humming in his throat, he reached down and grabbed the back of her jean clad thighs, picking her up and putting his nose against hers. Rain water dripping from his lashes and sliding down her cheeks, he smirked. "Then looks like we both could use a shower."


	20. Chapter 20

"Jesus, Paul..."

There was a deep chuckle in the other wise silent room as he slid the pads of his fingers up Bella's sides. Continuing the path along her arms, Paul laced his fingers with hers and pinned them down above her head as he continued his assault on her body and senses. She was also so responsive, and it never failed to drive him just a little more wild. A nipple between his lips and her legs would tighten around his waist. Giving that nipple a tug and her back would arch so much it actually cracked one time.

Stamina wise, Bella had certainly come a long way in the last month. The first time they crossed that line, it was all of three minutes, followed by a very firm 'never the fuck again' that lasted for two days before she decided she was a liar and they went again. It was five minutes that time, but over time, and sometimes even more than once a day, now she and Paul had a very healthy sex life. She was adventurous, but not crazy with it. It had to be in doors, but she wasn't a stickler for it having to be in a bed, and she was willing to at least attempt different positions.

Head dipping down, Paul captured Bella's lips as he continued with his steady movements. She moaned into his kiss as her nails dug into the skin of his hands as his hips surged forth and sheathed himself to the hilt.

It was a surprise to no one that since Paul was getting laid regularly his temperament had leveled considerably. As long as your name wasn't Jacob Black, he was harder to piss off, and rarely did it end in violence, though he still wasn't one you wanted to push that far. What was surprising to her was he wasn't nearly as rough as she thought he would be, or at least not all the time. He was always up for a down and dirty fuck, but that was something she had to be in the right mood for, or something he really had to work at still.

Her birthday had also passed and would you believe her dad got her a jumbo box of condoms; a present she opened in front of the entire pack? Not only did he get her condoms, they came with a note attached to the box saying 'be safe about it... and the safest way to do it is not in my house'.

Feeling her beginning to clench around him, Paul sped up his strokes and lifted himself slightly. Pulling one of his hands free, he reached down and hiked her leg higher on his waist, changing the angle and force he used. She broke their kiss as he her head went back, her back arched, and cried out as she was rocked from head to toe in orgasmic bliss. A growl in his own throat at how tightly he was squeezed when Bella got off, it didn't take but four more strokes before he grunted his own release.

Dropping his head onto Bella's shoulder, he panted, a chuckle slipping from his lips when he felt her body quiver. "Told you you would say it."

Eyes closed as he attempted to catch her own breath, she snorted. "Ass."

Hearing her phone ring in the living room where she left it, she sighed, though had to admit, she was shocked at the timing whoever it was had.

Paul just picked his head up, and pressed his lips back to hers. "Answer your phone. You really pissed your dad off the last time you didn't."

Cringing slightly at the memory, she grabbed his shirt off the floor when he rolled off her and headed for the bathroom. Forgoing any form of undergarments, she trudged through Paul's house to the living room and picked her phone up. Figuring it was her dad, she didn't look before she answered, only to find out she was wrong. When he wasn't her dad, she pulled her phone from her ear and looked at the screen. Her lip curling, she put it back. "Mike? I'm not supposed to work today, am I?"

" _Not that I know of. But, hey, look... there's this chick here looking for you. She won't tell me her name and when I asked what she wants, her exact words are 'none of my fucking business.' I know by now you have to be sick of this place, but do you mind? She's causing a scene and my mom is starting to get really pissed off."_

Nose wrinkling as her shoulders slouched, Bella looked back at the door to Paul's room and frowned when she saw him leaning on the frame with his arms crossed. "Yeah. I'll be there in like... fifteen minutes."

" _Awesome. See ya then."_

Dropping her arm, she ended the call and sighed. "Yeah, so awesome." Trudging back through the kitchen, she leaned against Paul's chest and he wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

Looking down at the top of her head, he clicked his tongue. "Gotta go to work?"

Sorta of shaking her head, she sighed again. "Someone is there looking for me and causing a scene. Gotta do deal with some random person and I'm not really in a people mood."

Chuckling, he grinned. "Poor little Swan. Want me to go with you?" When she nodded, he removed his arms from her and took a step back. "Then get dressed. The sooner you get there, the sooner this is dealt with."

It was a fair statement, and true to her word, fifteen minutes later, Bella pulled into the parking lot in front of Newton's. It wasn't until both she and Paul were out of the car that Paul noticed something, and entire mood shifted.

His eyes roamed the parking lot, but he couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Nodding slowly when he was asked if he was alright, he stayed on his guard as he followed his girlfriend inside the sporting goods store.

Bella had zero reaction time before she was nearly knocked on her ass. Grunting and stumbling backwards, the only thing that kept her up was the fact Paul was right behind her and caught her before she fell. Every ounce of warmth was leached from her body and the name 'Stella' caressed her ears. Blinking as she caught her balance, not knowing what else to do, cooed 'Jade', and set her hand on the back of the visibly upset female vampire she hadn't so much as heard of before or after the day she saw her. Craning her neck, she turned and looked up at Paul, who looked a cross between confused and angry. There had not been a single vampire come through the area since that fucking fight, and he would have died happy to never see one again.

Waving off Mike with an 'I got this', Bella pulled the upset vampire outside and down away from the door before she let go of her wrist and looked at her. The contacts she wore were starting to dissolve, so getting her outside when she did was clearly necessary. Crossing her arms, Bella finally showed her confusion. "What are you doing here?" As an afterthought, she continued. "And you better not say you missed me."

Reaching into the inner pocket of the floor length black trench coat she was wearing, Jade pulled out an envelope and held it out to the human. "We need your help."

 ***X***

 **So... I started today all sad because I was almost done with this story. This was meant to the last chapter, but then I was bitten by a bunny, so now it's not. It's going to continue for just a little longer *grins***

 **See you tomorrow! Or... later today, rather.**

 **~Speklez**


	21. Chapter 21

**Okay... real quick.**

 **Yes, there is/was a problem with chapter 18. I accidentally uploaded chapter 18 of Cover Up in Jagged Edges' place. It has since been fixed, so I'm not sure why it's still coming up for some as the mistake, but it should eventually work for everyone.**

 **I was** ** _going_** **to make this a new story, and turn this into a short trilogy, but I was talked out of it, so it's going to be just a longer story. If it doesn't seem as if it fits, it's because as I was writing this chapter, I had different intentions for it.**

 **Even still, I still love it, and I hope you continue to enjoy it.**

 **~Speklez**

Why was it when things were going so good, something had to rise up from the land of Fuck You and screw it all up?

The couple had fallen into a very comfortable routine over the last handful of weeks, Paul learning the hard way what it was like to date a teenager that hadn't yet graduated high school. Though Bella's dad relaxed a bit on curfew after her birthday, there were still rules in place that forced him to go home, or her to be home, at what Charlie had decided was a reasonable hour on a school night. Weekends however were fair game, and Bella spent either Friday or Saturday night at his place.

While she was at school, Paul generally took that patrol shift, and met her at her truck when she got out. Surprisingly, at least to Bella, Paul had turned out to be a great tutor when it came to calculous. The day after school started, they were hanging out while she did her homework, and when she got frustrated, he had just looked over her shoulder for one minute, and rattled off the answer she had been trying to get for a good fifteen. When Charlie came home, he watched Paul help Bella with her homework, saying nothing about it or the fact Paul was over at all when he wasn't home.

This is what they did, and it was great. There were no threats to Bella's life and they just got to hang out without worrying about some long since dead person popping out of the woodwork to wreak havoc on their lives.

Or so they thought.

Both Bella and Paul looked at the envelope, but it was Paul that spoke. "We?" Turning his head to where Jade looked, he sighed a hard growl when he saw Felix standing next to a black SUV. "Of fucking course."

Eyes sparkling, Jade grabbed Bella's wrist and pressed the envelope against her palm, her entire form beseeching. "This affects you, too."

Tapping the envelope against her other palm, Bella licked her lips before she opened it, only planning on skimming it, but by the second sentence, she read every word, Paul reading it over her shoulder. His brow slid up while Bella's eyes went side and snapped up to Jade's. "I don't..."

Cutting Bella off, Jade cleared her throat as her eyes swam. "Help me get him back... please."

Folding the note back up and slipping it back into the envelope, Bella lifted a shoulder, her voice no less confused. "This says it's his wish to be left alone for a while. Why not give him what he asked for?"

Scrubbing her face hard with her hands, there was a growl in Jade's throat. She didn't think she was just going to show up and the girl agree without question, but damn it if that wouldn't have been the way she wanted this shit to go. Dropping her arms and crossing them over her chest, she tried to remain as calm and cordial as she could, but it wasn't easy. "That's not his handwriting. You've met him. Do you think he writes any less proper than he talks? On top of the fact that's fucking chicken scratch, the day Demetri uses contractions in any form of communication is the day this world ends."

Biting her lip, Bella looked up at Paul, who just shrugged at her. Getting no help there, she returned her eyes to Jade, her voice almost helpless. "What is it you think I can do, Jade? I'm human. If there is something wrong here, it sounds like it would be better handled by you."

Nodding quickly, Jade licked her lips. "Which is why you're the only one that has the chance to get close. You know we exist. You've seen us at our best and at our worst. You know what to look for when looking for someone who isn't human without sticking out like a sore thumb. You can go where we can't. Stella, please. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't desperate."

Making a noise in the back of her throat, Bella ran her tongue over her bottom lip. "And if you're desperate enough to come find me, I take it Aro doesn't believe you."

Growling much hard and eyes darkening a few shades, Jade snapped her teeth. "Aro is useless on a good day and under the best of Goddamn circumstances. If it wasn't for Chelsea and that fucking shield of his, he wouldn't even be in power. But, currently, he has a far bigger problem to deal with."

Scratching the back of his jaw, Paul's eyes scanned the parking lot, taking in the slowly growling number of people. Dipping his head, he whispered in Bella's ear. "Baby, I think this conversation should be moved somewhere else."

Tapping her foot against the sidewalk, Bella also took in the staggering number of people that seemed to pop up out of nowhere, and nodded while looking back at Felix, but speaking to Jade "Have you two been to my house?"

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Jade nodded. "Yeah, uh... the man there said he thought I could find you here."

 _Fuuuuuck._ Tapping the envelope against her palm, she bit into her lip. If her dad was home, that was out. It was Saturday, so most places would be busy. It was then she had a stroke of genius. Smiling to herself, she held out the envelope to Jade. "Follow me. I know where we can talk and you can get as loud as you want."

A spark of hope bloomed in Jade's chest as she nodded and took back the letter. Pulling her hood up, she headed to where Felix waited at the SUV, and looked up at him when he said her name. Shrugging at the question he presented about Bella's agreement, she opened the passenger door. "I don't know. But if she doesn't, I don't know what else to do."

Back at her own truck, Bella was having much the same conversation with Paul as she turned the key and started the engine. "I think there's more to this than she's saying." Looking over at Paul as she waited for Felix to get behind her, her brows drew down. "So much for living a life free of vampires, eh?"

That was the last thing that was said until Bella pulled off the highway and turned onto a hidden path in the trees. It had been a very long time since she was last at the house made of glass, but it wasn't like anyone was living there now. It was secluded enough that either vampire could lose their shit and no one else be the wiser.

Pulling to a stop by the front door, Bella cut the engine and climbed out, waiting at the bed for Felix to do the same. Paul, though, was looking at the house he never even knew was there, and hummed in his throat. "They never even tried to blend into a small town, did they?"

Folding her arms on the side of the bed, Bella chuckled. "Not really. I mean, did you ever see what they drove?"

Making a sound of agreement, Paul said nothing else, and threw his arm over Bella's shoulders as they headed for the door. Waiting a moment for Felix to pick the lock, he then put his fist through the alarm pad by the door, very effectively shutting it down. Once everyone was inside and the door was closed, Bella led the way into the living room, taking a seat on the edge of one of the chairs, Paul taking up a place behind it with his arms propping himself up on the back and they both looked at the two vampires that stood on the other side of the room.

Lacing her fingers together between her knees, Bella looked at Jade. "Why don't you start from the beginning."

Crossing her arms and leaning back against the fireplace behind her, she sighed. "Two weeks after we got home, Demetri was sent to check out claims of someone trying to collect talented vampires. This isn't a new practice. A lot of covens do it, because talented vampires offer an added level of protection for the members depending on the talents. Most of these claims are unfounded, and it's usually by stroke of luck that a coven leader either discovers one or creates one. If they aren't created, it takes a lot to convince a gifted nomad to join a coven where they would now have to listen to the one in charge because nomads don't like to listen to anyone.

"Now, this isn't something that takes all that long. A day or two at most and that mostly depends on location and how long it takes to get there. It also doesn't usually fall under Demetri's job description. Generally, that's the twins' job. On the very rare occasion that the claim is true, Jane does her voodoo crap to incapacitate the coven leader, Alec does his little trick, and the gifted are brought before Aro where they are either 'recruited' to the guard or destroyed if they are of no use to him." Pointing a thumb to Felix, "which is his job.

"Demetri comes in when the gifted is recruited. He is the 'Master of the Guard'. He trains every new person that joins, by will or by force. It doesn't matter. He doesn't care. They are trained to follow his commands without question. Those orders might come from Aro, but they are handed out by Demetri. Aro has very little involvement with the guards themselves, and the small amount he does is basically spent talking down to them, treating them like pets and toys more than someone that was taught how to annihilate entire populations. Our society works like it does because vampires fear the guard, and the entire guard fears Demetri. It's not exactly uncommon knowledge that he doesn't teach everything he knows, and no one wants to find out what he kept to himself."

Shaking her head, she cleared her throat and lowered her voice. "The entire guard is collapsing in on itself. They won't listen to anyone, because they don't know who to listen to that won't piss Demetri off when he gets back. Since no one knows _when_ he's coming back, some have completely stopped listening altogether, and others are fighting among themselves in a viance for supremacy. Never mind the fact he knows where a lot of people are at any given time, including you two, he's the one people fear because if they fuck up, they can't hide from him. Without him, the Volturi will implode, and our society will crumble, taking the secrecy of our existence with it, because without Demetri, there is no longer a deterrent to stay hidden." Red eyes flicking to Paul's, her voice was level but held a bite. "I don't think I have to tell you what that means."

While Jade was talking, Bella had dropped back against the seat, her jaw going lax and shoulders hunching. When she was done, all she could do was stutter slightly. "Th... I..." Shaking her head, she licked her lips and tried again. "That's a lot of responsibility to put on one man's shoulders."

Both brows shooting behind her bangs, Jade deadpanned. "Have you seen my man's shoulders? He carries the weight just fine."

Paul, who had said nothing since he was outside, cocked his head. "Let's say you're right about all of this and someone is trying to dismantle your coven by keeping him away. Let's say he didn't actually write that letter without this someone else's prompting. I've met that prick. How the fuck would someone hold that particular vampire against his will?"

Scratching the back of her head, Jade looked a little more uncomfortable that she had. "Uh... there is a very good reason that, after the end of their first year, vampires never see their Sire again. They actively avoid them. Sires ever really lose all the power they have over their childe. It is their venom in our veins, after all. There will always be a level of loyalty to our creator, whether we want it or not. If his sire got close enough, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from listening to him. The only thing that can sever a bond between vampires is death. The Sire/Childe connection is second in strength only to the connection between mates. The loss of that bond drives the grief of the remaining vampire in one of two directions. They either give up on life, or they go insane and do stupid shit in order to join their lost lover... as you saw with the Cullens. The mating bond is the ultimate bond in our lives once it's created, because it connects the two on a mental level. The connection between Demetri and I is a bond others would literally kill for, because we have both. That's why I can stand here and tell you this because not only am I Demetri's mate, but he's my sire. I am connected to him in every way a vampire can be, and I am telling you, he needs help, and I can't help him. With him being my sire, it then gives his sire power over me as well, just by controlling Demetri."

Dragging her nails across her neck, Bella shifted in her seat. "If the mating bond is stronger than the sire one, why can't you go after him and bring him home."

The term bitter didn't even come close to the emotion that took over Jade's face as her lips pressed together and her eyes crinkled in the corners. "Because I'm not a male. The female of the pair is delegated to looking pretty and being something to protect, not someone that does the protecting. Oh, don't mistake, we will fuck a bitch up if they try to move in on our male, but when it comes to taking on male? We just aren't physically strong enough. If Demetri wasn't my sire and I was basically taken hostage by this other sire, Demetri would have the necessary strength to deal with the situation. All that will happen if I go, is I end up stuck there too, because while he can fight off the mating bond; I can't. _I_ am mated _to him_. He holds all the power in this relationship. I only have what he gives me."

Face souring even more, she then growled in her throat. "It is a male dominated society, and," holding a hand up, "normally that's not a big deal. If they have a good mate, the female is treasured. Me? I am spoiled fucking rotten. I want for nothing. Demetri goes out of his way to ensure I have whatever my little black heart desires. I get away with shit other females could only dream of. I have four rules to follow." Ticking them off on her fingers, "Don't cheat on him, don't bite him outside the bedroom, don't accept a position on the guard, and don't leave the palace on my own... hence Felix being here. He plays bodyguard when I go out without Demetri. You wouldn't believe how much trouble I got into for showing up that day by myself, but I earned the ass reaming I got for that because I knew better."

Blinking, Bella's head cocked to the side. "You aren't a guard?"

Shaking her head, Jade hummm'ed. "Nope, mates usually aren't. If one is sent one place, and the other is sent somewhere else, it would be the male that likely didn't return because their instinct would be focused on their mate and not themselves. Mates are the only thing we will die for, so it's better that one of them doesn't serve. That's not to say that Aro wouldn't _love_ to see me in a robe, but I'm gifted and he's a fucker, so... not all that surprising."

Brow raising, Bella hummed. "What's your gift?"

A smirked pulled at Jade's lips as a ear splitting clap of thunder came from nowhere. "I can control the weather. The storm that day? All me. It makes it easier to move around undetected when thunder hides the sound of your feet and the rain washes away your scent. Now, I can't like, control the rain or whatever on its own. It's pretty much all raging thunderstorms or nothing."

"I thought that was just Washington." When Jade hunched her shoulders, Bella sighed. "What is it you want me to do? If you can't do anything, or he can't, what exactly am I supposed to be able to do?"

Holding up both hands, Jade kinda bounced them up and down a bit. "No... no, see, we can, but... um...but..."

Setting a hand on her shoulder, Felix took over to give her a break and time to calm down. "There are rules in place to prevent us from doing exactly what we are asking you to do. We cannot just go to the permanent territory of a coven without permission to do so or physical evidence of a broken law. Demetri is a well known member of our coven, regardless of sirehood, and we take what amounts to kidnapping Volturian guards very seriously. All we need you to do is find out exactly where he is, take a picture to provide the proof we need, and we can take it from there."

Nodding in earnest, Jade laced her fingers together and held them in front of her lips. "A tourist... we need you to be a tourist... with a very, very specific itinerary."

Even Paul had to admit it didn't sound like they were asking for much. There was no mention of newborns to kills, vampires to fight, or anything that sounded even slightly compared to what they had done only a month ago. Find the leech, take a picture, and get the hell out of their way. Simple enough. Looking down, he again just shrugged at Bella who was looking up at him. "I kinda hate to say it... I really hate to say it, but... we kinda owe them."

Both brows raising, Bella chuckled. "How big of you."

Smirking with another lift of his shoulder, Paul chuckled himself. "What can I say? I've grown."

Amusement not gone, Bella's face flattened. "No you haven't." When Paul snorted in response, Bella turned back to the vampires. "So, where is he anyway?"


	22. Chapter 22

Silence...

You could hear a pin drop in the room following the big reveal of Demetri's location. Neither Jade nor Felix could make eye contact with either Bella or Paul as they processed the answer.

After what felt like an eternity, Bella licked her lips, her voice slow and unsure. "I'm sorry... did you say Egypt?" She heard a throat clear, and looking to Jade, Bella shook her head when Jade nodded hers. "I can't go to Egypt. Do you know how long it takes to prepare for a trip like that? Then there is the obvious reasons of no passport, plane ticket, or money. Then, there is the more practical reason of I have school; not to mention my father would legitimately kill me. We aren't talking grounding for the rest of my life, he would literally murder me, and he's a cop. They would never find my body, at least not while my death can be tied to him."

"I can't do anything about those last two, but..." Pulling her hand out of the pocket of her jacket, Jade held up to passports. "You both have passports that will hold up under even the most rigorous examination. You don't have to worry about plane tickets. We have a jet, and I'll give you however much money you want, more than you could spend in ten lifetimes. I don't care. I just want Demetri back."

Felix responded with a snort. "You stole that jet."

Uncaring, Jade shrugged. "He wasn't using it. Besides, if he didn't want it used, he shouldn't have left what was needed to get it off the ground in the open like that."

"You broke into his office and tore it apart looking for that paperwork."

Looking up at him, Jade still didn't care. "Semantics. Anyways, do you really think he's going to notice, or even care if he does? Aro has his hands full trying not to get his head ripped off by the more overzealous guards. If he has something to say when we get home, let him say it, but I'm not going back with him, and you know D'tri doesn't put up with Aro's bullshit."

Opening his mouth to argue with the pint sized blonde, Felix then closed it and nodded. "True."

Turning back to Bella and Paul, who seemed to be having their own rather heated discussion over the matter, Jade whimpered slightly. "Stella..." waiting until she had Bella's attention, she swallowed hard. "If we could do this without you, we would, but we can't. We can't expose ourselves to someone else and we can't just waltz into Amun's territory without making the situation worse. Demetri's ties to Amun were stolen, but Amun can get them back if enough time passes. If that happens, twenty-five hundred years of Volturi rule is over, and with no one keeping the more... uh... maniacal nomads in check, all out anarchy will follow, and in very short order. There is no way in Hell that anyone is going to put up with a transition of power to yet another coven when it's so much easier to govern themselves and answer to no one. If he gets Demetri back under his power, he can have him hunt down any that would oppose such a thing, and Demetri is dangerous enough to take out anyone that would dare not bow to Amun."

Bulking at the statement, Paul's lip curled. "That Aro guy said nomads just want to be left alone to live their lives."

Scoffing as her own lip curled, Jade crossed her arms again. "Aro is a disconnected moron that doesn't know his head from his ass half the time. He hardly ever steps down from his gilded throne and the few times a year he does, it's not to mingle with the commoners. Aro doesn't know a damn thing that goes on within our world if it's not shoved in his face on a silver platter, and even then it's hit and fucking miss. Let me ask you this... If vampires wanted to live a life of peaceful existence, than what the fuck does he need the Guard for, hmm?" When the two remained silent, Jade leveled them with a look. "The truth is, far more want to rain Hell fire and brimstone down upon humanity than there are that want to live peacefully among them. Vampires are far superior to humans in every way imaginable, and there are those alive that remember what it was like before all of Aro's rules and laws were put into effect. If you think a peaceful co-existence is what ninety percent want, you're as delusional as Aro is."

Every word from the despondent vampire that caressed Bella's ears made the rock in her gut just a little bigger. For what was said, this sounded like a whole lot more than just taking a picture. This sounded like something completely different. Scratching the side of her nose, Bella played with her tongue for a moment before she spoke. "And... somehow a picture will be able to stop that from happening? That seems... too easy."

"You'd be surprised what a simple picture can do, Stella."

Glancing at Felix, Bella remained silent, her thoughts taking over. She knew she owed them, and she knew her would likely not be alive anymore if not for them. Or, at the very least, she wouldn't be human anymore. One thing she was noticing though, as weird as it seemed, was that it looked like vampires had a nasty habit of putting all their eggs in one basket. The Cullens relied almost exclusively on Carlisle's gift of gab to talk to them out of whatever shit they got themselves into that Alice's visions couldn't avoid. From the sounds of it, Aro relied almost exclusively on Demetri's gift, even though she was positive he used the other guards' talents when the situation warranted it, and it also sounded like this Amun guy was willing to do the same since Demetri would know exactly when and where to attack the Volturi if it was his sire's desire to take Aro's place as Lord of the Vampires.

Whatever happened to a well rounded plan? With back ups that had back ups?

Scratching her forehead, Bella closed her eyes. "Okay, so... you said he went missing two weeks ago, so that's two weeks under his sire." Opening her eyes, she looked back and forth between Felix and Jade. "How long would I even have to find him?"

Setting the passports in her hand on the mantle behind her, Jade slipped her hands back into her pockets. "That's... hard to say. It would depend on how... erm... viciously Amun is willing to reassert his command and how weak he's able to make Demetri while he does it. Most of the guards that weren't sired by Aro are held there due to a manipulation of their loyalties. The weaker the vampire, the easier that manufactured loyalty would be to break."

Hand over her mouth, Bella gulped back down the bile that rose to her throat. "That... sounds... horrible."

Jade just hunched her shoulders as she rocked back and forth from heel to toe. "You want to the see the good in us, and while commendable, I'm here to tell you, there isn't any. Vampires aren't civilized. We are selfish, self-centered assholes. If you're not feeding us, or fucking us, you mean nothing to us. It's a mistake to think otherwise."

' _Well, that's certainly a great incentive to get on a plane with you'._

Almost as if she could read Bella's thoughts, Jade grinned. "The truth will set you free, Stella; after it pisses you off. The truth is, I am selfish enough to do whatever I have to do to get my man back, including holding the fact you wouldn't be alive if not for me over your head. You wouldn't be human, and you wouldn't have your wolf. You owe me."

Jaw dropping with a scoff, Bella shook her head. "And here I was starting to like you. I had every intention of helping, by the way. No need to be a twat."

Grin morphing into a smirk knowing what she was actually just called by someone who doesn't have the balls, Jade chuckled. "If you ask Demetri, that's one of my more redeeming qualities. The jet is at Lawson Airpark in Port Angeles in Hangar 2, and will be ready for take off in three hours. We'll meet you there. It's a pretty long flight, so I suggest bringing something to eat."


	23. Chapter 23

"Charlie is going to kill me."

Sitting next to Bella, Paul chuckled as he set his hand over hers on the armrest, lacing their fingers together. When she looked up at him, he gave her a half smile, but his eyes showed his true colors. He thought this shit was funnier than hell. "Probably, but in his defense, you didn't exactly give him much of anything before taking off. A note with no explanation about where you were going, or even how long you would be gone, _and_ leaving your cell on the table next to it... gotta admit, I would probably kick your ass when you got home, too."

Narrowing her eyes slightly, Bella's voice flattened. "What exactly was I supposed to say? I won an all expenses paid trip to Egypt but only if I left right then? Or, how about, you know that chick that showed up looking for me? Her boyfriend was kidnapped and she saved my life a month ago. So, to pay her back, I'm going halfway around the world on a wild goose chase to see if I can find him?"

Humming in his throat, Paul tapped a finger against the other armrest before he lifted a shoulder. "Pretty sure anything other than what you did would have resulted in less of a chance of death upon return." When Bella groaned, Paul let go of her hand and tossed his arm over her shoulders, pulled her against his side and clicked his tongue. "Ya know, Swan. If you're going to die anyway when we get home, may as well make the best of the trip."

Choking on her tongue, Bella looked at him and slowly shook her head. "I am not joining the mile high club, Paul."

Sighing a 'damn' under his breath, Paul then chuckled. "Your loss, Swan."

Snorting, Bella turned to look out the window. "I bet."

They were on the first leg of the journey, and would be in New York in about five hours for a refuel. Then it was on to Spain for another, and they were told they would be making their final landing in Cairo in about 23 hours. Once they were there, they would have five to seven days to not just find Demetri, but to also figure out how to get him far enough away from his sire for this hold Amun had over him to break again.

Over the course the flight, little was said between the vampires and Paul and Bella; both pairs working out their individual parts of this rescue, or sleeping when the mood struck for Paul. Bella was too tied in knots, but she learned some time ago when it came to Paul, he could literally sleep anywhere.

To avoid any unnecessary hold ups, neither Bella or Paul got off the jet when they landed in Spain. Only Jade disembarked, and it was because she was thirsty. She hadn't eaten properly since Demetri left, and after so long in an enclosed space with a human, she was pushed to her limits since she had never once known hunger.

It was during the last leg of the flight, the just under five hour flight from Madrid to Cairo, that the four on the jet finally sat together, and the sheer scale of the situation was revealed. A map spread out on the table, both Bella and Paul looked at it with wide eyes as Felix ran a hand across almost the entire thing.

Lifting her eyes from the map, Bella choked out. "That's... that's the entire Nile River Valley. That's like over 4,000 miles to cover, eleven countries, countless cities, even more swamps and deserts, and he could be anywhere." Shifting her eyes to Jade, she whimpered out a chuckle. "How long did you say we had? Five days... seven if we're lucky? That's a shit load of ground to cover."

Unable to help it, Jade giggled. "Well, yeah, if you look at it like a human."

Face going flat, Bella snapped at her. "You know what? You can I are gonna fight, and I'm pretty damn good with a baseball bat."

Laughing outright, Jade smiled at her. "No, what I meant was, a good portion of this area is desert or still unsettled, empty space inhabited by animals. Humans need water to grow food, and since it doesn't rain here very often, most human habitation is going to be near the river itself. A vampire is going to nest close to its own food source, meaning what you're looking for is also going to be close to the river, effectively eliminating the vast majority of this territory. Just because his borders encase the entire valley, doesn't mean he lives in some remote part of it. More likely, he lives smack dead center of the valley."

Looking back at the map, Bella's lips turned down. "The middle of the valley is in Sudan, not Egypt."

Nodding once, Jade pointed to where they were heading. "Yes, but this is the biggest city on the Nile itself."

While to two girls continued to argue over where the best place to actually start looking was, Paul leaned back in his seat, his arms crossed as he tuned them out. Eyes scanning the map in front of him, he rolled his head on his shoulders, quietly clicking his tongue as he thought. Before the girl's argument could come to a physical end, he uncrossed his arms and leaned forward, placing his finger on a point on the map. "Here." When all eyes were on him, he shrugged and leaned back. "Look at that... it's the middle city of mention in the country we're going to. Besides, this dude's old as fuck right? Well, he probably feels right at home surrounded by ancient Egyptian monuments. You said he once lived as a God. Luxor is also known as the Valley of the Kings and Queens. Chances are, one or more of those monuments were built for him. It might not be as big as Cairo, but I promise you Luxor has more visitors a year than Cairo does. Cairo might be a large city, but Luxor is Egyptian history, so it's not like humans would be in short supply." When he continued to get stared at, his face took on a slight glare. "What? Haven't any of you ever taken a history class?" Then, he looked at Felix. "And, aren't you old as fuck, too? Shouldn't this be like... personal experience for you?"

Face all but a sneer, Felix grunted. "I am not that old, you son of a bitch. I'm only a handful of centuries older than Jade."

Nose wrinkling, Paul didn't let that one slip through his fingers. "You're old as fuck, Dude. Just accept it and move on."

When Felix growled, Jade grabbed his shoulder to keep him from getting up and pointed to the front of the jet. "Go make arrangements for them to get to Luxor." Looking back to Bella and Paul as Felix went to do as asked, she reached into her inner jacket pocket and held out their passports, a reloadable debit card, and a small cell phone. "Once we touch down, there won't be much time before Felix and I will have to take off again. Our refuel in Spain was wiped from the manifest, so as far as anyone knows, that's all we're here for. You two will be on your own as soon as your feet touch the ground. Remember, once you find him, you have to get him at least a mile away from Amun, and I have no idea how hard he's going to make that for you." She then looked dead into Paul's eyes. "There are shifters in this area, but they're feline, so you have no allies here. Just for being the breed of shifter you are, you're automatically an enemy to them as well."

Grunting as he slipped the debit card Bella handed him with his passport into his wallet he pulled from his back pocket, Paul flicked his eyes to Jade's. "Nothing like saving the real challenge until last minute, huh?"


	24. Chapter 24

Sitting on the edge of the bed of their hotel room, Bella had her elbows on her knees and her fingers threaded in her hair. Looking at the floor, she chewed on her bottom lip as her thoughts continued to swirl. She knew Paul was looking at her, but she refused to say a word until she sorted out her thoughts; something that wasn't coming very easily to her at the moment.

The silence stretched on, and it was starting to make Paul's hackles rise. He ated seeing his imprint at such a loss. It was weird. She always had something to say, beit sarcastic, assholey, or bitchy, there was always something, and so see her look like she was on the verge of giving up made his stomach roll. Standing from the chair he had been sitting, he crossed the room, crouching down and setting his hands on her knees. "Swan?"

Bella didn't move a muscle. "Two days, Paul... we've been here for two days and have found nothing to indicate Demetri is anywhere near here." Shaking her head, she finally looked at him. "Other than you saying this place smelled like an overused litter box, there hasn't even been any indication there are even supernaturals in the area at all, and we're running out of time."

Though Paul didn't move out of her way, he watched her as she stood and maneuvered out into the room. Draping his forearms over his thighs, he sighed to himself. "We'll find him, Babe; I promise."

Without looking at him, Bella shook her head. "You can't promise that."

Paul, cocky as ever, snorted. "I sure as fuck can."

Whipping around, Bella's fingers curled into tight fists, and she stomped her foot, her voice rising. "You sure as fuck can't!" Glaring at her boyfriend, who was looking back at her with wider eyes, she let out a hard breath. "4000 square miles, Paul; that's what we're facing. Four thousand square fucking miles, and this Amun mother fucker could literally be anywhere. He doesn't need to be close to the river. He's a goddamn vampire! He could be hundreds of miles into the desert, and it wouldn't phase him in the fucking slightest. Not like it would take him all that long to cover any amount of distance when it comes time to feed."

Scratching the bridge of his nose, Paul stood. "And the sun? You know, the thing that's hardly ever not out?"

Bella couldn't help but snort. "Jade said this was his permanent territory. If Amun created Demetri, and Demetri is over two thousand years old, it means Amun is older than that. Pretty sure over that amount of time, the son of a bitch has figure out how to make the sun a non-issue." Scrubbing her face, she then laced her fingers together behind her neck. "Maybe Jade was right." Dropping her arms, she sighed. "Maybe we should have gone to Cairo."

Looking as offended as he felt, Paul scoffed. "No, I'm right. He's here somewhere."

Crossing her arms over her chest, Bella leaned back against the dresser and cocked her head to the side. "We've been all over the place, Paul. I haven't seen anything that isn't human, and you haven't said you picked up anything other than the cats we already knew were here. How much more ground is there even left to cover?"

Crossing his own arms, Paul looked at Bella with a raised brow. "You didn't honestly think this was going to be easy, did you?" When she flicked her eyes to his, Paul clicked his tongue. "How many times has your ass been hidden in the last three months?" Bella looked away again, and Paul continued. "When you're trying to hide someone, the last thing you do is allow any trace of them to be found. If that cock sucker is as well known and as important to the vampire race as the other leeches say he is, the fucker that's trying to hide him is going to make damn sure every possible trail that could be followed is covered and then some. You might not have seen indications of a vampire, but I have. What I haven't done, was smell it, and that's because of the goddamn cats. They're here. We just haven't figured out where."

Crossing her ankles, Bella frowned. "What have you seen that I haven't?"

Paul shrugged. "Red eyes." When Bella blinked, he grinned. "I'm designed to find vampires, Swan. It's literally my purpose in life. The flip side is, they're pretty well designed to find my kind too, so..."

He didn't need to finish the thought. She caught the jist.

Scratching the back of her head, Bella then recrossed her arms. "So what are we supposed to do? If you saw them, they saw you, so even if Demetri was here, what are the chances he still is?"

Crossing the room, Paul grinned at his girl as he bent at the waist, setting his hands to either side of her on the dresser. "Pretty damn good. I won't hazard a guess as to what this swarm of parasites did to the cats to force them to bow like they are, but I can promise they won't see enough of a threat in one wolf to risk exposing where they are. Well find him, Swan. There are still plenty of places we haven't looked."

*X*

He could feel himself being watched, but Paul did his best to not let it show. After he got Bella to calm down enough to sleep, he decided to go out for a walk, and really wasn't in the mood for a fight. He just wanted some air, but he knew someone had been following him since nearly the moment he stepped foot outside the hotel. He didn't dare look around for the culprit, just slipped his hands in his pockets and kept his eyes straight ahead.

He was less than a hundred yards from where he started when he locked his brown eyes on a set of inhuman colored blue, giving him a moment's pause. Glancing to his left, he saw two more sets of glowing eyes, causing him to sigh. He kinda figured he would be seeing the resident shifters eventually, but didn't mean he wanted to. Still, it was better he had this faceoff without Bella present, because now he wouldn't have to worry about her while, clearly, needing to defend himself.

Turning halfway back the way he came, he wasn't all that surprised to see his exit blocked. The two females stood shoulder to shoulder, their arms crossed. They were dressed in hardly any fucking thing but bras and something that might pass as a skirt that left a whole leg exposed. A brow slowly creeping up to his bangs, Paul turned back to the one that still hadn't moved from where he first saw him, a grin pulling at his lips.

"Here Kitty, Kitty."

With a pivot to the right, Paul took off in a dead sprint down an alley. He heard them give chase and chuckled as he crouched. With as much force as he could put into his legs, he lept from the ground, grabbing onto the overhang of the roof, and pulling himself over it. Feet connecting with the tiles, he was off again.

Jumping from rooftop to rooftop, Paul looked behind him, grinning at the what looked like overgrown black house cats. "This is different." Looking back forward, he clicked his tongue. "I'm usually the one chasing pussies." Foot on the edge of the roof, he launched into the air, phasing mid jump, and landing on all fours. Digging his claws into the clay, he slowed himself down and spun around with a snarl and snap of his teeth.

On the other side of the roof, four black cats crouched, looking ready to pounce, and Paul's muscles coiled to do the same. They weren't as big as he was, but they weren't small either. There were also more of them than there was of him. A constant growl in his throat, a challenge answered by the felines, Paul shot forward only to dig his claws into the roof below him when the shifter that had originally blocked his path dropped from no where, still in her human form with a hand raised, palm out.

"Stop."

Jumping back several feet, he snarled out a 'what', not knowing, or even caring, if she could understand him.

Akila regarded the canine before a short moment before she grinned, her heavily accented voice a purr. "A warning, Cub."

Paul snorted. _Who the fuck are you calling a cub?_

Looking the man in the eyes, her voice turned serious. "He knows you're here, and he comes. It's too late for her, but not for you. I suggest you leave this place before you no longer can."

It felt like ice replaced his blood at her words. He reacted with little thought as he snapped his teeth and lunged forward. He didn't consider the amount of noise that was made, or that he and the cats were able to be seen by any human who happened to be out at this hour. The only thought he had as his claws sliced into feline skin was getting past them and back to Bella.

A high pitched yelp ripped from Paul's throat when one of the felines jumped on his back and sank her fangs into his shoulder. Wrenching around, he clamped his teeth into her back leg, using his grip to fling the cat into another one that went for his momentarily unguarded neck.

Crouched down, his chest nearly touched the roof beneath his paws as he growled and bared his fangs. His shoulder burned and he could feel blood seeping from the punctures, but as he stared down the pride of cats that blocked his path, he ignored it. The leader said it was too late for Bella, but that meant about dick to him. They knew where she was going to be taken, and if he had to systematically rip each one to shreds, he would make one of them tell him where she was.

Shifting his weight from side to side on his back paws, he snarled when one of them hissed, and he shot from his spot. When they turned tail and ran, he gave chase, left with little option outside hoping they led him in the right direction. There was a part of him that realized they were likely leading him into a trap, but what choice did he have? They were under the thumb of the resident coven, but he wasn't, and therefore, he was a threat to them.

On the run through the desert, he was able to pick off one, leaving it behind in a bloody heap in the sand. He wasn't exactly a fan of intentionally harming a female, but the more he learned about the supernatural world, the more he was coming to the conclusion that ideal was one that should be reserved strictly for human woman. He didn't have a single positive interaction with any inhuman female. Every last one of them have been some self-serving bitch that used humans as pawns, and lately, that pawn has been in fucking imprint.

Every time his paws his the sand was one more reason to tie her little ass up and throw her in a fucking closet.

Closing in on yet another cat, Paul felt his muscles coil, making ready to spring when the ground seemed to ripple, knocking him off balance. Digging his paws into the sand, he attempted to stay upright, but another shockwave shook the ground, much harder this time, and he hit the ground. It took a tremendous amount of effort on his part to get back to his feet as the strength of the tremors grew, more than once getting knocked back on his ass when the sand rippled like it was water.

Forced with choice but to back off, Paul turned and tried to get back to where the ground wasn't going insane, only for a literal wall to shoot up a foot from the tip of his muzzle, once again forcing him back into waves of sand.

 _What the fuck is going on?!_

Not even caring it looked like he was chasing his tail, Paul spun in circles, looking for a way, any way, out of the rolling sand. Finally, left with no time to decide and no options, he just took off, leaping over the sand waves when necessary, but it really didn't feel like he was actually going anywhere, any progress he made taken by the moving sand. Any time he made a sharp turn, there was a literal wall stopping him. If this wasn't him being corralled, he didn't know what was, but he sure as fuck knew that staying in one place was a far worse idea than going wherever he was being forced to go.

Clamping his jaw, he bared down, putting everything he had into his powerful hind legs, but there was a distinct limp to his gant from the bite to his shoulder. He could feel the sand closing in behind him, and he pushed himself faster, his breaths coming out in panted growls. Leaping over another wave, he bit back a whine at the front leg impact, but didn't let it slow him down. In front of him he could see another one coming, and it was the highest one yet.

 _Mother fucker..._

With another burst of speed, he made the jump, but when you're expecting to jump over something, it really put a damper on the landing when you land on something solid. The jarring of the his front legs when he landed on the platform of a missing monument finally took out his injured shoulder, sending him bouncing across the unforgiving stone. Yelps and whines ripped from his throat as he tumbled, twisting in far more unnatural ways as he tried to stop the unintended tumble.

Claws finally finding purchase, he dug them into the stone, barely stopping himself from falling back into the crashing sand waves. Tired and in a shocking amount of pain, it took every last ounce of energy he had left to pull himself back to the relative safety of the higher ground.

Sprawled out on his belly, Paul closed his eyes as he panted, his tongue actually hanging out of the side of his mouth. He could no longer hear the sound of the sand over the beating of his heart, and it took him several minutes to even be able to open his eyes, and several more before he began to slowly push himself to his paws. The fucked up landing took away any ability he had to put weight on his injured shoulder, which gave him a much more pronounced limp as he slowly made his way to the side of the stone.

Still panting with his tongue hanging out, he looked out into the desert, and blinked at what he saw. It reminded him of what happened when he threw rocks into the ocean with the way the sand rippled out and, at the epicenter, was the four remaining cats. If he thought he had a shitty experience with the way sand moved, it was nothing compared to the fact the cats could barely keep their heads visible.

Then, just like that, it stopped, and the cats were trapped.

 _Good fucking riddance._

Once again dropping to his belly, each pant as Paul tried to catch his breath carried a high pitch whine. He had never been bitten by any other kind of shifter before, so he had no idea what kind of damage the little bitch caused, but he knew his overly graceful landing dislocated it, which pretty much meant in this form, he was now useless. Yeah, sure, his shoulder would be dislocated as a human, too, but at least as a human he could pop it back in. Or, if he couldn't, a dislocated shoulder wouldn't stop him from moving. As a human, though, he lost all the enhancement of his senses, sans the sixth one that told him vampires were near. He was only interested in finding his girl... and she was human.

At this point, he could give a fuck about finding Demetri. Locating that prick had always been a crapshoot at best, something he knew from the start. However, Bella had this odd little fucked up attachment to corpses, and an aversion to the word 'no'. Pairing those two truths together, once again, led her to be kidnapped by the living fucking dead. Only this time, he didn't even have a starting point as to where to look for her.

He was still panting when he heard a loud whistle behind him, causing him to lift his head and crane his neck around. Eyes searching around him, he lifted them and caught sight of what looked like a child standing on the top of a pillar not far away. Taking a moment, Paul considered his options, but realized he didn't really have any. He was fucking positive the whining he had been doing for the last however long would negate any bravado he might be able to summon in the face what was clearly a vampire. However, his lips did pull back from his teeth, though that was far more out of annoyance he hadn't realized a leech was literally right on top of him than it was in any way a threat.

Benjamin looked back at the creature he had been watching for the last two days. He knew from the moment he first saw him he wasn't human, the stench he gave off told him that much, but he had no idea the man was a shifter. He wasn't sure what else he could have turned out to be, but the only shifters Ben had ever seen was the panther pride that lived in the area, even before Amun claimed it for himself.

His red eyes flicking to the felines, he grinned. Oh, they would be able to dig themselves out, but it would take them some time, and it was his hope that by then, he would have what he found out to be a wolf heading in the right direction. Returning his eyes to the wolf, Benjamin called out, unsure how good the animal's hearing was at the moment. "You're going the wrong way."

Even as a wolf it was clear that Paul's face had lost every ounce of emotion at the confirmation of what he had already figured out. Licking his chops, he cocked his head to the side. The bloodsucker wouldn't understand him unless he shifted, but if he was going back on a run, he was faster in this form.

Hopping off his perch, Benjamin landed in a crouch on the other side of the platform, his eyes locking with the wolf's. "Karnak Temple, deep below the sounds of feet. You must hurry. There is very little time. Follow the Sphinx, and they will lead you to the den of Amun-Re."

*X*

Hands wrapping around Demetri's wrist, Bella's wide eyes were locked on his as she struggled to catch a breath.

Demetri, a growl in his throat, leaned in close to Bella's face, his nose sliding along hers as he spoke low. "You, _really,_ need to learn to tell supernaturals no." Then, with no remorse to be found, simply let go of Bella's neck, turning away as the human dropped to the stone floor with a grunt. Shrugging out of his jacket, he then tossed it over his shoulder where it fluttered down and landed a foot in front of Bella. "Put that on. I can ignore your heartbeat for the moment, but your blood is another matter entirely... even if you do smell like your pup."

Unsure which part of her hurt more, her throat or her ass, Bella reached up and rubbed at her neck as she coughed and gagged for a breath. Turning her head, she watched as the vampire walked across the space and turned back, leaning hard back against the wall and dropping to the ground. She took a moment and took in his disheveled appearance, a frown pulling at her lips. His clothing was dirty and ripped, and hair was matted down. His skin seemed to be even more pale than a vampire's should be. It looked like he had two black eyes from the darkness beneath them, and not even when she was looking him dead in the eyes could she see any white. He looked like he was starving, and she couldn't stop herself from wondering exactly how long he would be able to fight against his thirst.

Still, she took him at his word, since she learned before he was very to the point. Reaching out, she grabbed his jacket and, though it was a struggle, she got it around her and even pulled the hood over her hair. Once she fully caught her breath, Bella pushed herself into a sitting position and also leaned back against the wall she was just held against. "I'm pretty sure Jade doesn't like that word."

There was a hard snort from the tracker as he dropped his head back and closed his eyes. "Believe me, Stella... you do not need to inform me of that." Cracking an eye open, he hummed, more to himself, but his words were all for her. "I really did believe she liked you." Closing his eye again, he shifted slightly, dropping his hands over his knees and swallowing a mouthful of venom. "But she does very much enjoy proving me wrong."

Unable to help it, Bella gulped and the words were out before she could stop them. "What do you mean?"

Demetri let out a long breath through his nose before he picked his head up. Opening his eyes again, he looked at the human across from him, his voice level and as offhand as she ever remembered hearing it. "Because she sent you here to die."

Bella literally felt her heart stop. Every cell on her body froze at the simple statement. Her breath caught in her throat, and she choked on her words. "No... no." She watched Demetri's brow slide up his forehead, and she forced her mouth to work. "She sent me here to get you away from Amun."

There was a near literal bark of laughter from him as Demetri once again dropped his head against the wall, closing his eyes again as he continued to laugh. Shaking his head, he grinned at the ceiling. "That is certainly not going to happen."

Jolting at the statement coming from him, Bella let out a slight cry. "But it has to!" Shrinking back when she was growled at for the volume of her voice, repeated herself much quieter. "It has to. Jade told Paul and me what's going at back in Italy. We _have_ to get you out of here. Everything depends on it. Aro can't control the guard, and everyone is tearing everyone else apart."

There was nothing she said he couldn't have figured out on his own. And he still found an immense amount of amusement in the situation. Chuckling louder, he let out an amused sigh. "I honestly have no need for you to tell me that. It was only a matter of time, really. When you have so many uncivilized beasts congregated in such a small area, there is bound to eventually be an uprising. Something he never took the time to consider." Finally turning his black eyes back on the human, he simply shrugged. "Still, even if there was a way out, I haven't fed since I last saw you. I am capable of a great many things, Stella, most of which would blow your mind. However, not even I cannot take on fighting both a sire bond and a hundred guards I have personally trained without feeding." Then, his head tilted to the side. "No one can outrun Karma, Stella, and this is ours."

Bella actually bulked. "Ours?"

Nodding slowly, Demetri again closed his eyes, doing his best to ignore the sound of Bella's rapidly beating heart. "You really need to stay settled. I truly do not wish to hurt you, but if you do not control your heart's rhythm, I will no longer be able control my thirst; which would be your Karma. Dying at the teeth of one that once protected you." Waiting a moment, hearing his one time charge take a deep breath and let it out slowly, he clicked his tongue. "Even should whatever Amun's plans are include survival, I will never see my mate again. Fitting, I suppose, for all the half mated pairs I've killed over the years. It's safer for her, though, having no idea what that son of a bitch would have me do, and by extension, her."

Gulping loudly, Bella cleared her throat. "Because you're her sire."

Knowing a rhetorical question when he heard one, Demetri simply nodded. "Look at that..." closing his eyes, "you can be taught." There was no amusement in his voice. No underlying sarcasm that Bella had gotten used to when talking with this particular vampire. It was nothing but a simple statement, indicating his understanding of her own.

Quite surprisingly, she didn't like it.

Looking at Demetri, Bella bit her lip hard, her mind whirling. There was so much wrong with this picture. She didn't know him, but the way it was almost like he had given up, resigning himself to whatever lied around the corner... it just seemed wrong.

Like anything about this was right.

She was literally ripped out of her bed, in her underwear, and thrown in a tiny room with a starving vampire. She didn't know where Paul was. She didn't know if he knew where she was, though she was pretty sure he knew she was gone. She hadn't caught a lot of the conversation between the male and female before she was shoved, quite literally, into Demetri, but she did catch that someone was keeping him busy.

Shifting her eyes to the vampire, she bit harder into her lip. She didn't want to say he was defenseless, because she didn't actually know if he was or not. She had zero experience with vampires that haven't fed in over a month, but he could barely stand at this point. She was positive the only reason she was still breathing was because he wasn't, and while she appreciated the fact he was putting so much effort into not eating her, too much rode on his shoulders for this to be the end of the line.

Dropping her eyes, she released her lip and let out a breath. "Do you actually have the ability to stop this?"

Not reacting physically to the question, Demetri licked his lips. "Stop what?"

Flicking her eyes back to him, Bella swallowed hard. "All of it. The implosion of your coven. The exposure of your world. The hunt for those that would oppose your sire. You know where there is a pack of wolves that have the ability to take out the prizes of the Volturi, that are a direct threat to Amun, because you made them a threat. Can you actually stop all of it like Jade said you can?"

Reaching up to scratch his brow, Demetri tisked. He knew where she was going, and he wasn't going to let her. "No."

Unable to help it, Bella whined. "So that's it, then? You're just going to give up? You're just going to allow yourself to be used like a dog? You're just going to sit there and do nothing?"

Opening his eyes, Demetri looked at the ceiling, a short hum in his throat. "Pretty much, yeah."

Face twisting into a sneer, she scoffed. "What happened to you? What happened to the cocky little bastard that found everything little more than an annoying inconvenience? The one that didn't give a literal shit about offending someone? The one that said he would have the Devil cringe at what he would do to someone that so much as thought of doing something to Jade? Answer me this, Demetri... What the fuck happens to Jade if you give up?"

If she didn't have his attention before that, she knew she sure as fuck had it now. And she used it to her advantage. "You're her sire. She doesn't know this life without you. She doesn't know life outside Volterra, so where is she supposed to go where she'll be safe? She can't hide from you if you're told to kill her by your sire, and you won't be able to stop yourself. She believes so strongly in you, she's willing to risk everything to save you, and there you sit... giving up when she needs you most." Leaning forward, she narrowed her eyes. "If anything happens to her, I want to make damn sure you know you'll only have yourself to blame."

His eyes also narrowing into near slits, Demetri too leaned forward, grabbing one wrist as his lips pulled from his teeth. "Allow me to make one thing very clear, _Bella_... no order to kill my mate will be followed. Jade and I are connected in every way a vampire can be, and our bond supersedes any other. That mother fucker can try, but he'll be sadly disappointed when it doesn't have the desired results. As for the rest of your asinine statement, the further Jade is from me, the safer she is because she _must_ listen to me. She has no choice. If you want to use facts about vampires against a vampire, perhaps you should first make sure you know what the fuck you're talking about."

Grinning in a way that actually put the vampire on edge, Bella chuckled. "I know exactly what the fuck I'm talking about, Asshole. She's literally just outside this territory, waiting for me or Paul to send her any iota of proof we can find that you're here so she and Felix can come in, get you, and take you home so you can do whatever voodoo you do and stop the guard from destroying itself. She didn't send me here to die, you stubborn son of a bitch. She sent me here because she thought I was the only one that could get what she needed to get you back, though I don't know why because you're certainly not half the man she described on the way here. The man she talked about certainly wouldn't give up and in the process, turn his back on her. She thinks you're a fighter, that you'll do whatever you have to to get back to her, but look at you... proving her all wrong and shit."

Demetri looked at her with a cross between annoyance and sheer pissed off. "Take a good look around. In case it has escaped your notice, Stella, the only source of food within several miles of us currently, is you."

That had not, in fact, escaped her notice. Actually, it was a fact she was painfully aware of. But, for the first time ever when dealing with him, she wasn't taken off guard by his words, but she was taken aback by what wasn't being said. He really didn't want to hurt her. Sure, he had said as much before, but she had thought that was more to calm her down than it was actually the truth.

Brows drawing down, she lifted her hands up, looking at the dirty, black canvas of Demetri's jacket that covered her skin. It was so different from the last jacket of his she wore, and not for the fact it was plain. It was everything that was wrong with this situation. He was regal, pompous, and proper. Dirt and filth had no place on him, much less his clothing. It was the external manifestation of him giving up.

While Bella sat there sick to her stomach, Demetri sat against the wall across from her seething. Oh, yeah, he was angry. He was hungry, sure, but still somewhat within his ability to control his teeth so long as he just stayed where he was. As long as he didn't play hero, the little human that had somehow grown on him during his time in Washington didn't have to die. Maybe it was her level of innocence, he honestly didn't know. What he did know, however, was he wasn't lying when he said he didn't want to hurt her. Whether that was because of her herself or the fact he just didn't want to eventually have to deal with a pissed off pup, though, eluded him. It really could go either way.

Through his lashes, he watched as her thoughts danced across her face, once again reminding him of Jade when she was human. They were both extremely easy to read, so he wasn't all that surprised when her features hardened. He was positive whatever course she just decided on was likely to be very stupid on her part, but he really couldn't do anything until she revealed herself.

The entire situation sucked. She had no idea how things went from just needing to get a stupid picture to then having to physically get Demetri away from wherever he was hidden, but as she sat there, Bella knew there was only one way that was going to happen. She didn't know where Paul was. She didn't know how to tell him where she was. She was pretty sure she could ask Demetri, but she was also pretty sure the answer was going to be something she wouldn't like.

There was no way in Hell the wolves would ever bow to some crazy, power hungry vampire. They would absolutely fight to the death against it, and they would all die, followed by a whole lot more people. All she had to do to stop that from happening was draw a little blood. Though a rock settled in her gut, knowing she wouldn't see Paul again, she let out a breath when she decided what she was going to do. Licking her lips, she didn't look at Demetri as she spoke. "We don't have time to argue about this." It was then she flicked her eyes to Demetri's narrowed ones. "Just tell Paul Amun did it."

Having been so long since he last ate, Demetri was too slow to stop her from raking her nails hard against the skin of her leg. In trying to tell her not to do it, he took a breath at the wrong time, getting not just a nose full of the scent, but the flavor on his tongue. His movements were unknown even to him as he went from sitting against the wall to crouched in front of the slightly bleeding human. His voice a was deep growl as his eyes locked on hers. "That... was really fucking stupid."


	25. Chapter 25

There was something to be said for desperate times and what one can endure when they had no choice.

Somewhere in the back if Paul's mind he knew he was doing irreparable damage to his shoulder, a shot of fire shooting down his front leg every time his paw hit the cobblestone like path he was directed down. His fur was matted and stained with blood from the bite to his shoulder. He had no idea why those weren't closing, or at least why the punctures hadn't stopped bleeding, but he did his best to ignore the burn they caused. The dislocation was much harder to advert his focus from, but he kept his jaw clamped and just put one paw in front of another, taking the run one sphinx statue at a time.

There was two miles between Luxor Temple to Karnak Temple, and the wolf barely made it over half way between the two before the sounds of growls and hisses reached his ears. He didn't pause, or really even slow, but he did look back and had to bite back a whine at the sight of the four cats that had been buried in the sand behind him and closing.

 _Oh, come the fuck on. Give me a break... just one._

Facing forward again, for the first time, Paul had no idea what to do. If he believed the vampire that pointed him this direction, his girl was at the end of the path, and he certainly didn't want to lead those demon cats straight to his human imprint; especially since he had no idea what kind of state she herself was in.

That time, he wasn't fully able to silence the whimper.

Still, he didn't stop running, not wanting to have any major decisions made for him right at the moment. If he stopped, he was positive that decision would bite him in the ass, in the most literal sense that could be taken. He couldn't take on the pride by himself, not in the state he was in, but he was pretty sure there wasn't going to be a lot of help at the other end of the walkway.

Bella was, though...

Lips pulling from his teeth in a snarl, a growl ripped from his throat as his claws dug into the path. Whipping himself around, his momentum and the blood on the pad of his paw causing him to have to scramble for traction. He tried digging his extremely fucked up claws into the pavement, but that proved to do nothing but put him right on the edge of crying actual tears.

When his chest hit the ground, it actually knocked the wind out of him, but he tried not to let it stop him completely. It was an absolute struggle to get himself back to his feet, but his front leg couldn't take his weight enough to do much more than stand his ground. If Bella was still alive, the only thing he had left to offer was to hold these cats off as long as he could so she didn't vampires _and_ shifters to deal with.

Paul was seconds away from facing martyrdom when his view of the cats was obstructed and his nose was assaulted with the scent of overly sweetened koolaid. With a staggering stumble that followed a hard sneeze, Paul opened his eyes, watching in a state of awe as a lone figure dove into the ring of cats. His attention didn't stay there for long, though, before the scent of apples and honey caressed his senses and his massive head dropped to the unconscious body laid out on the pavement.

The shock of seeing Bella and hearing her heartbeat all but forced him back to human form, but he was so drained, be actually crawled to her side, leaving scraps across the skin of his knees and the tops of his feet. He had absolutely no use of his arm, but that didn't stop him from pulling his imprint into his arms, holding her closes and giving her as best of an inspection for injury as he could. He could smell her blood, but from first glance, he didn't see any teeth marks.

Lifting his eyes from Bella, he watched as Demetri absolutely laid waste to the cats that wanted no part of facing off with him. The quiet of the night was shattered by snarls, growls, high pitched howls, and snaps that Paul was positive was breaking bones. It took him two minutes to kill two, bite a third, and Paul actually had to swallow the bile that rose when he watched the vampire sink his teeth into the neck of the last remaining feline. When that body hit the ground, he then moved on to the one he bit, drinking from that one as well.

It was morbidly fascinating to the wolf to watch a vampire eat, and he could die happy if he never had to do it again.

Throwing the only partly drained body in his hands from him, Demetri ran the pad of his thumb across the corner of his lip to get the drop that escaped, his sights now trained on the wolf and his human. The second cat might have been a mistake, but he would rather be overly full than ever be that hungry again. Licking the blood from his thumb, he made his way back where he left Bella under the guard of her male, but he was looking at Paul. "Can you run?"

Paul, having more than a couple of questions for the vampire, didn't answer him, and instead asked what was probably the most important question there was to ask. "Where the fuck did you come from?"

Growling in his throat, Demetri narrowed his eyes. There wasn't time for the pup to play twenty questions, not with the fact Amun was closing in on their location. "From underground. Now, can you run?"

Still not answering the question, Paul glared at the vampire then. "Did you feed from her?"

This time, Demetri growled loud enough to actually be heard. "No, though certainly not due to lack of trying on her part. Last time, Dog... can. you. _run_?" When Paul once again went to open his mouth, Demetri was sure to ask another question there wasn't time to entertain, Demetri snarled. "Allow me to explain to you the situation we are in at the moment. You cannot defend yourself much less your morsel, and my sire is closing in. I fed from shifters, not humans, which means I do not have the ability to fight off his orders made to me. The only thing their blood will do is allow me the ability to not kill your bleeding mate. If Amun gets here before we are gone, you two will die. Now, can you fucking run?"

Rearing back, Paul grunted, but finally answered the presented question. "Yeah, but not as a wolf, and I'm not as fast like this."

Nodding, Demetri knelt down in front of Bella, gently removing his jacket from her, Paul lifting her slightly up so he could slide it from under her. Once he was in possession of his jacket, he moved to crouch next to Paul, getting a good look at the damage to his shoulder. He could see the dislocation, but the more concerning issue was the puncture wounds from feline canines. Clicking his tongue, Demetri rolled his head on his shoulders. He didn't have a lot of time to come up with a better option and, licking his palm, he clamped his venom covered hand over the holes, hearing a sizzle, and squeezing his grip to keep Paul in place while he seared the wounds closed. Demetri, not saying anything before doing so, then popped Paul's shoulder back into its socket.

Fire erupted from his shoulder, and Paul damn near dropped Bella. The flames sent up his neck and down his spine, but he couldn't even yelp, his throat completely closed off. Breathing hard and shallow, he fought back the urge to vomit, and as the burn began to recede, he dropped his head onto Bella stomach.

Demetri, once he checked to make sure the holes stopped bleeding, rolled Paul's shoulder, much to the wolf's displeasure, and once he was convinced it was going to stay where it belonged, finally released him and stood. Looking around them, his eyes locked on a place to the north, but it was fifty miles away, and there was no way to get there with a human and an injured shifter in the time they had.

He needed a phone, and he needed one now.

Looking down at the wolf who was coming back to his senses, Demetri crossed his arms. "Do you have a phone?"

Paul, in pain and pissed off, made no attempt not to give a stupid answer to such a stupid question. "Yup, sure do. It's nestled nice and cozy up my naked ass."

Face losing all emotion, Demetri deadpanned. "Forgive me for thinking you traveled halfway around the world with more than just the clothing on your backs."

Rolling his shoulder himself, Paul then slid his fingers into Bella's hair as he heard her moan in the back of her throat. He was looking at her when he spoke to Demetri. "We did. Your mate gave us a phone, but it's back at the hotel by the river."

Closing his eyes, before looking to the stars, Demetri grunted. "Fifteen miles in the opposite direction we need to go. Wonderful." Glancing back to where he knew Jade and Felix to be waiting, he ran his tongue along his teeth before nodding once. Looking at Paul, he let out a breath. "You have a choice to make. You can either work with me, or we will all die."

Paul snorted hard at the presented 'choice'. "What's the plan?"

Bending at the waist, Demetri snatched his jacket off the ground and held it to Paul. "Give me her and put this on. I know you're fatigued, but you need to run, and as fast as you can."

Though it literally killed a part of him to do so, Paul didn't put up a fight against the statement. He even helped somewhat in settling Bella in the arms of a vampire before climbing to his feet. As he was pulling on Demetri's jacket, he looked at the vampire. "I'm not going to be able to keep up with you like this."

Demetri snorted hard as he shifted the waking human slightly into a better position to run in, and rolled his eyes. "You couldn't do that even on your best day. That's irrelevant though. You're going to go the opposite direction." Glancing at Paul, Demetri's lip curled as he watched the wolf button his jacket closed over his dick. There was disgust in his voice when he spoke then. "I won't need that back."

Paul just glared. "The fuck I am, and I did just fine keeping up in Washington."

Looking at the pup, Demetri grinned. "So? Compared to now, Washington was a playdate. I am the fastest creature on this planet, and would have already have made the fifty mile run to my mate... four times... in the time I've been out of my cage. The only reason I haven't is because you two risked your lives to save mine, and it's only fair I return the favor. I will get you both home, or die trying."

Feeling a very oppressive weight begin to settle on his shoulders, Demetri's head snapped to the north, and he growled. "I have to move." Jetting his chin toward the direction he knew Jade and Felix were. "Head that direction and do not stop. You're wearing my jacket, so you will smell like me and, The Gods willing, trick my sire into following that scent instead of following me personally. You will not be on your own for long, I swear it. Three minutes is all I need to get a hold of Felix, and he is fast enough to intervene before anything too terrible happens. While you two are distracting my sire, I will get your mate to safety, feed properly, and then come back for you."

Looking where he was pointed, Paul made a noise in this throat. "Wouldn't that just put you back under your sire's thumb?"

Demetri shook his head. "No. The only reason he was able to before is because I was underfed, and that won't be a problem this time."

Something in his mind told Paul to question that. Instead, he looked back where he was told to go, and nodded. "Then you better go before he gets any closer."

The vampire and the wolf looked at each other for a long moment, mutual respect and understanding in their eyes for the other. Shockingly enough, they both wanted the same thing; all three getting out of this alive. However, the two supernaturals were of agreement that so long as the human survived, neither cared if they didn't.

Before Demetri bolted from the Sphinx lined path, he dipped his head to the wolf. "Good luck, Paul."

Paul, watching as Demetri vanished before his eyes, sighed. "You too, Demetri."


End file.
